


Sunshine Smile

by Ainasaurus_rex, Boozombie



Series: Rays Of Sunshine [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Gang World, Alternate Universe - Mob, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dubious Consent, Forced Cuddles, Forced Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, No noncon, Sorry Not Sorry, ace is in a coma, but at least hes alive, dark Law, dark themes, dont like dont read, luffy has one more brain cell than in canon, luffy is having a hard time, mature luffy but hes still an idiot, mob boss law, street fighter luffy, we killed garp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:53:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 51,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25540897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ainasaurus_rex/pseuds/Ainasaurus_rex, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boozombie/pseuds/Boozombie
Summary: Luffy, a struggling street fighter just trying to pay for his brother's medical bills shines his smile at the wrong person and is suddenly thrown into the world of mobs and gangs by a very possessive Trafalgar Law.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law, Portgas D. Ace/Smoker
Series: Rays Of Sunshine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888774
Comments: 473
Kudos: 683





	1. Hello Sunshine

Luffy smiled brightly for the hospital receptionist and she gave him a soft look back. He knew almost everyone at the hospital at this point. He had made great friends with all of the nurses, and found them all to be great people. 

Luffy gave her a wave as he walked by, he didn’t have time to stop and chat this week. He had a fight tonight. Muscle memory brought him to the room he’d visited weekly, or more, for over two years now. 

Luffy opened the door and forced his cheeks to keep up his bright smile. 

“Hi Ace!” Luffy called to the mostly silent room. The only noise was the respirator and the soft beep of the heart monitor. Luffy gulped, he would never be able to get used to seeing his brother like this, he looked lifeless. A breathing tube down his mouth and wires connected to virtually every part of him. 

Ace had always been his unbeatable big brother, indomitable in every way, and now he looked so broken. It had been two years since the raid that comatosed him. 

“Did you have a good day so far?” Luffy asked despite knowing Ace wasn’t going to respond. “Dadan sends her love, she can’t visit at the moment but.... she says she loves us. She can’t wait for you to wake up!” 

Luffy chattered on about his day. He had an early shift at the coffee shop this morning, he got a lot of tips, and hadn’t burned himself today. He hoped Ace was proud of him for that, he used to be so clumsy. 

“I’m sure Gramps would be excited for you to wake up too, when you do we can go visit him at the cemetery.” Luffy felt his smile slipping but held onto it by pure force of will. Ace had always said his smile lit up his world, so he’d continue to smile even if he just wanted to break down, also maybe flip a car and rage for a few days. “I’ve been keeping the house! Dadan might have been arrested but I’ve made sure our home is safe for when we can all see each other again. I’ve become very reliable.” 

Luffy pulled his straw hat down over his face as he hiccuped out a sob, unable to hold it back. “I’m really doing okay, I swear. I’m okay, I’m okay.” 

Luffy gripped Ace’s limp hand with both of his, smiling even as tears spilled down his face. 

“I promise, when you wake up everything will be just as it was. I’ve been protecting your territory, I’ve been getting stronger, don’t worry about me. I’m fi-fine.” Luffy slammed his forehead into the railing of Ace’s bed, trying to beat the weakness out of his head. “Your old gang ran off but I’m sure you won’t have trouble building a new gang. It's all going to be okay in the end,” Luffy said mostly for himself. 

He may be drowning in medical debt, black and blue from the consistent tournament fights, and sleeping in a drafty old house but he had his brother. As long as he was still breathing Luffy knew he’d be okay. 

Ace’s old territories didn’t bring in enough money to cover the medical fees, mostly because Ace hadn’t asked for huge protection fees, and Luffy didn’t want to gouge them either. When Ace went into a coma and his gang ran off the areas one by one went up as prizes in the Grand Line Tournament. A back alley street fighting ring where gang heads send in fighters to win new territories. 

Luffy had been determined not to lose even one of the areas that used to be Ace’s domain. His brother had fought tooth and nail for those streets of the city and Luffy would protect it! 

Luffy wiped his eyes and caught sight of the bouquet at Ace’s bedside. God knows Luffy didn’t have the money to bring Ace flowers, so he always wondered where they came from. He hadn’t been able to tell Sabo about Ace’s condition, so it wasn’t him. It was always a bouquet of pink and red Camellias with Chamomile. Luffy knew the flowers meant something but he always forgot to look into it.

“Oh, Ace! Sabo sent another letter for us. Can you believe our brother is off saving the world?” Luffy pulled out the letter and smiled softly down at it. For the past three years Sabo had been working with a charity organization to help third world countries. He didn’t have a phone where he was and only wrote them letters. Luffy sent letters back, but anytime he tried to write out what happened to Ace... he just couldn’t do it. Sabo was trying to make the world a better place, and he’d rush home if he knew what Luffy was doing by himself. He just couldn’t destroy his brother's life like that. 

Besides Luffy could handle it, his brothers had basically raised him, put everything aside for him. This was his chance to return the favor. 

Luffy sat and talked with Ace for a while. Telling Ace how his friends were doing, all of them knew about Ace’s condition. Although not how bad the situation was getting... 

Nami was still deep in her cat burglarizing ways but it helped her pay her way through college. She was going to be a cartographer! 

Ussop was writing a book, and soon he’d be marrying Kaya. Luffy was so happy for him. 

Sanji had started at a proper culinary school, he was already the best but unfortunately the world demanded he had a degree. 

Zoro was taking lessons from his master to someday inherit the dojo. He was also moving up in his professional kendo career. 

Brook was the same as always, performing his music on the streets. Luffy still had no idea if he was homeless or not. 

Franky and Robin were doing well also! They’d officially tied the knot and were living happily above their bookstore/carpentry shop. Luffy would never understand how that business dynamic worked. 

Last but not least Chopper was excelling just like everyone knew he would. He was a prodigy in medicine and had been accepted into medical school at such a young age. Everyone knew the shy boy would do great things, except maybe the boy himself at first. 

Luffy jolted when his phone began to ring, signaling that it was time for him to go.

He sighed. “Sorry, Ace. I wish I could stay with you longer but I have a fight to go to.” Luffy squeezed Ace’s hand in his own one last time and started making his way out of the hospital. He bid goodbye to the nurses he passed on his way as well as the receptionist.

Luffy walked speedily towards the alleyway that his fight would be at. He had to make sure to go and scout the area for traps. Once he had gotten there he looked up and could already see a few people scattered about the rooftops waiting for the fight to happen. He walked along the alleyway slowly and checked his surroundings. There was barbed wire on the walls so he made a mental note to avoid them. His eyes scanned his surroundings and he also noticed that there was broken glass littered about some areas. Luffy sighed and logged that into his mind as well.

There was still a good ten minutes before the fight started and he could hear the scuffling of shoes and quiet murmurs as more people gathered on the rooftops on either side of the alley. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he readied himself to fight his next opponent.

Luffy took off his straw hat and flipped the hood of his dark red hoodie up above his head. He then promptly replaced the straw hat over the hoodie. Tying the strings of his hoodie he checked his surroundings one more time before he walked back to one end of the alleyway. He didn’t need his opponent to be grabbing onto his hoodie and using it against him.

His opponent arrived around five minutes later and Luffy sized him up. The other man was considerably taller than him and a large dog that was flanking him. He was wearing sunglasses that had slight wings at the tip along with a green tank top that showed off the purple tattoos on his left arm. He also had a shaved head and an odachi on him. 

Luffy glanced at the dog and noticed that it wasn’t even growling at him, which he found to be somewhat odd. He nodded his head at the other man and spoke.

“Monkey D. Luffy.”

The other man grunted at him and spoke his own name. “Ohm.”

As soon as the word left his mouth Luffy charged forward and threw his fist at Ohm’s face. Ohm quickly dodged and swung his sword in Luffy’s direction. Luffy ducked under the sword and bent low to the ground to kick Ohm’s legs out from under him. The other man lost his footing for a bit before quickly getting up.

Ohm fixed his sunglasses. “Holy! Bite!” 

Holy charged at Luffy and he groaned. He didn’t want to hurt an animal but it had to be done. This guy knew what he was doing bringing a dog to the fight. He maneuvered himself to the side just as Holy was coming at him and quickly brought his elbow down to knock into the dog’s head. He whined at the blow and fell snout first into some stray broken glass. Luffy cringed at the action but rushed towards Ohm once again.

Before he could reach him, Ohm swung his sword and managed to graze Luffy’s side. Luffy held a hand to his side and noticed it was bleeding but not at an alarming rate. He quickly ran back towards the other man and sent a flying kick his way.

Ohm got the breath knocked out of him as Luffy’s sandal hit him square in the chest. He was knocked back into the wall and he let out a yell as the barbed wire pierced his skin. Luffy made his move and threw a punch at Ohm’s face but he dodged it just in time. His fist ended up connecting to the wall and he let out a hiss as the barbed wire dug into his knuckles.

Shaking it off he jumped back as Ohm tried to slice him with his sword once again. Luffy heard a growling noise behind him and realized that Holy was up and had somewhat recovered from the blow earlier.

“Holy, guard!”

Holy jumped in front of his master and snarled at Luffy. He charged at Ohm once again only to find Holy blocking his way. He sent a swift kick to the dog’s side and sent him flying towards the wall. Holy’s back hit the wall with a loud smack and he winced at the sound. Luffy did not like hurting animals but it had to be done.

Ohm took the chance that Luffy was distracted and thrusted his sword at Luffy who quickly dodged the blow. Luffy knew that he somehow had to get the sword away from the other man if he wanted to stop this attack and dodge pattern that they had going on.

An idea came to his mind and he smiled. Ohm gave him his own scowl in return and charged forward with his sword. This time instead of dodging, Luffy side stepped a bit and sent a kick towards Ohm’s hand. The blow landed and Ohm dropped the sword with a groan. Before he could react any more than that Luffy sent his fist straight into the middle of Ohm’s face. There was a sickening crack and Luffy knew he had broken the other man’s nose.

He finally had leverage as Ohm cupped his nose with his hands and stumbled backwards. Luffy sent a kick into his ribcage and felt himself displace a rib or two and it sent the other man flying backwards and into a pile of broken glass. The glass shattered even more as the new weight on them settled and he heard Ohm yell out. 

Luffy ran over to him but before he could send another blow Ohm rolled over and dodged. Luffy grabbed the back of his tank top and lifted him up before slamming him face first into the wall that was lined with barbed wire. He dragged Ohm across the wall a bit and then dropped him onto the floor. Ohm landed with a thud and a groan. Luffy used the opportunity to jump and slam his feet into Ohm’s back. There loud pops and cracks which signified to Luffy that he had displaced and broken some things. 

Ohm was black, blue, and bloody. He was a mess of blood on the floor. Luffy wanted to make sure he wouldn’t be getting back up to fight so he wiped the sweat off of his brow and took hold of one of Ohm’s legs. He sat on top of Ohm as he bent his leg to the side and then farther than it could go. He had the man under him screaming as he pushed his physical limits. Luffy took mercy and snapped his leg to the side of his body. There was a resounding crack and Ohm screamed once again. He got off of him and raised his fists up in the air.

The crowds on the rooftop started cheering for him as the victor to the match. Luffy didn’t let himself sag with relief. He held his head high and walked out of the alleyway. He heard people talking and laughing as they exchanged money from bets on the fight. He shoved his hands into his pockets and touched the side where he was grazed once again. He hissed in pain as he made his way back towards the house. He would definitely need to get himself fixed up.

* * *

Luffy woke the next morning in agony, his body was shivering, and his bandage on his side was dark with blood. So were the bandages on his knuckles.

“Fuck,” Luffy hissed. He hadn’t realized how much all the extra bodies warmed the shack of a house until the Dadan family had to flee and leave him alone. He missed how they had always patched him up when he was a kid, how Dadan used to fret over them while pretending she didn’t care. He missed when everything wasn’t so complicated. 

Luffy sighed as his old broken phone began to make annoying noises. He had to get up, he had work to do. An early morning shift at the coffee shop, then he’d log into his Dashmeat account and deliver take out for a few hours. What he was most looking forward to was Sanji’s adoptive father had hired him out as a waiter for some high class party. It was paying well and the guests could tip him too, he was in for a good payday tonight. Maybe he could feed the blackhole in his stomach more than what he’d been barely surviving on tomorrow. 

However, before he got that paycheck he was needed at the shop. 

Luffy pulled himself up, wincing when his side throbbed in pain. He tried to ignore it as he changed into a pair of his nicer jeans and a green hoodie. He grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste before heading down to the river. The water got shut off a few months ago when he had to choose between running water and food. He had the river, so he picked food. 

He decided against washing up since it was a cold morning so just quickly brushed his teeth and returned his toothbrush to the house. 

Luffy grabbed his straw hat and headed out. Ace had left behind his beat up 1980 something kickstart moped, Luffy had been hesitant to use it at first but it wasn’t like he could afford to be without a ride. 

_ “Luffy, don’t even think about touching this! You’d probably crash it,” Ace grinned, the insult undercut by his warm look. Ace had found the broken down moped in the Grey Terminal dump and had been slowly restoring it for months. It was Ace’s pride and joy now.  _

_ “Aw,” Luffy pouted, looking over how cool the moped was. Ace had even painted it yellow and added flame decals, it was so cool!  _

_ “Don’t be upset Lu, I’ll give you lots of rides on it!” Ace pulled him into a crushing hug, Luffy immediately hugged him back.  _

Luffy shook away the memory as he shoved the key into the bike and began trying to start the engine with the kickstart. It took a few tries but eventually it roared to life. 

Luffy put on a bright smile as he headed off to start his day. 

* * *

The moment Luffy stumbled into Party’s cafe Makino was hurrying over to him, a worried look in her eyes. She had been getting more worried every day Luffy came in with new scrapes and bruises. 

“Alright, get in the back and take off your shirt,” Makino demanded. She always made sure to check him over for injuries and take care of them properly so he didn’t go to the hospital for an infection. 

Luffy chuckled hollowly at her worry, cringing inwardly since he knew she was going to freak out about the slice to his side as well as his wounded hand. He moved into the back room and shed his hoodie, being careful not to pull at the wound. 

He used to not care about these sorts of things, but over the last two years he’s had enough infections from improperly cleaned wounds to understand the danger now. Makino followed him in and tsked at the damage. 

She immediately began to take away his bloody bandages and disinfect his wounds. 

“I wish you’d tell Sabo, or even your friends. Just to have someone there for you, I don’t want you to get so injured that you need a hospital and have no one to take you.” Makino was frowning, looking as concerned as she did everyday. Sometimes Luffy wished he hadn’t told her either but it was her cafe that started all this. Of course she knew. Five years ago when Ace was just 17, the area Party’s cafe was in went up for bid in the tournament. The gangs fighting for the area were known to beat, rape, gouge money from businesses, and had the worst drugs selling. Makino had been very worried, so Ace stepped up to the plate and ended up winning the territory. Then more businesses wanted to be under his control because of how fair he treated his territory, so Ace began fighting more and then began to form a gang! 

Everything had been perfect... until it wasn’t anymore. 

“I can handle myself, I’ve got you and Ace! I don’t want to get any of them involved, they’d drop everything to help.” Luffy hissed when Makino held a clean rag that smelled of disinfectant against his side for a few minutes. It hurt, god it all hurt so bad. “I don’t want everyone to worry, everyone should just be happy and smile!” Luffy gave Makino a happy look and she sighed. 

“Just be careful, give your body some time to rest at least,” Makino begged as she rewrapped his wound and took his hands to wash and disinfect his knuckles. “Don’t fight again for a bit, okay?”

Luffy gave her a genuine smile. “Don’t worry, none of Ace’s territory is up for a bid the rest of the month! So I’ll get to focus on work for a while.” Before all this Luffy had liked a good fight, he’d grown up a wild child in the woods after all. Yet now everything felt so desperate all the time, it was hard to enjoy a fight when his everything was constantly on the line. Honestly he was starting to feel the stress eat away at his mind. 

“You should go have some fun with your friends,” Makino chided him. “You’re only 19, Luffy.” 

“I’ll find some time to get together with them,” he lied badly and she pinched his cheek hard for having the nerve to in the first place. 

“I mean it Luffy, you have to take a day off or else you’re going to collapse!” 

Luffy sighed. It was the same conversation after every fight, couldn’t she see he needed this? A day off would only give him time to count the scars, to think of all the people he’d lost, to pick apart how everything had gone so wrong. Couldn’t she see he’d go insane doing nothing?!

“I’ll think about it, okay?” Luffy finally promised. Makino frowned at him but did nod, even if she held disappointment and sadness in her eyes. 

“Alright, come on then. It’s almost time for us to open.” 

* * *

Luffy felt full, which made him incredibly happy. Makino had hired such a clumsy chef, today alone he’d messed up four orders! Makino didn’t like to waste food and let him have all of it! 

It didn’t happen every day he worked but at least today he was full and didn’t have to spend a penny. 

“How am I not surprised that you don’t have slacks?” Sanji sighed.

Luffy laughed it off. “Maybe cause you know me so well?”

He heard Sanji take a drag from his cigarette. “Right that’s gotta be it.”

Luffy shimmied out of his jeans and put on the navy blue slacks that Sanji had given to him. He took off his green hoodie and replaced it with a cream colored button up shirt. He tucked the shirt into the slacks and looped the belt he was given through the belt loops. Turning around to make sure everything was in order Luffy nodded at himself in the mirror. He slipped off his sandals and put on the oxfords that Sanji had leant him for the night.

“Sanji I’m done now!” Luffy yelled out.

“Alright, well come out and let me see if you were smart enough to know how to dress yourself.”

Luffy unlocked the door of the changing room and stepped out. Sanji took another drag of his cigarette and did a once over of him before nodding.

“You clean up good, Lu. Now there’s only one thing we need to fix.” Sanji glared at the mop of jet black that was Luffy’s hair.

Luffy tilted his head in confusion as Sanji went to go grab a brush. Once he came back he started running the brush through Luffy's tangled hair.

Luffy yelped in pain. “Sanji! That hurts you bastard!”

Sanji growled. “Luffy just shut up and let me brush your hair. You need to look presentable.”

“Fine, whatever,” Luffy grumbled as he glared at Sanji.

Soon enough Sanji got all of the knots out of Luffy’s hair. He stepped back to admire his handiwork and gave Luffy a grin.

“Time for the finishing touch.”

Sanji went and grabbed two bobby pins from a drawer and pinned one side of Luffy’s bangs back. 

“Why did you do that?” Luffy questioned him.

“Because it makes you look better now c’mon. We have to get out there.”

“Wait my mask!” Luffy quickly went back into the dressing room and retrieved his mask he’d borrowed from Nami. The base was white and had cat ears poking out from the top of it. Over the white base was black lace that enveloped the entire mask and on the nose of the mask were black whiskers. Luffy slipped the mask onto his face and got Sanji to tie it in place for him.

Luffy followed Sanji out of the doors and into the staff area where everyone else was already waiting. Zeff gave them their instructions on what to do and what not to do. Luffy listened intently to him since he didn’t want to mess anything up. He couldn’t afford to mess up, really.

Once Zeff was done speaking the chefs brought out different platters of  hors d'oeuvres and different drinks. Luffy grabbed a platter of drinks and made his way out into the room where the party was being held.

Luffy’s eyes grew wide as he stepped into the large ballroom. Everything seemed to sparkle, the golden drapes, the freshly washed windows showing off the skyline of the city, even the people! Men dressed in suits, and women in lovely dresses, all of their masks hiding who they were. As he paused there, taking it all in, Sanji’s voice filtered into his head. 

_ “Luffy, make sure you’re careful. There will be a lot of dangerous people here and if you piss someone off you could get hurt.” _

Sanji’s warning hung ominously over him, reminding Luffy that these weren’t ordinary rich people. With a deep breath Luffy moved forward, he was nervous at first but after a few people took drinks off his tray without even looking at him, he calmed down. These people didn’t care about a simple waiter, he’d be fine. 

Soon enough Luffy’s tray was empty and he walked quickly back to the kitchen to grab another. He went through a few trays, gaining confidence with each one. He was proud of himself for not dropping one yet! 

Law’s golden eyes scanned the room and a particular waiter caught his attention. The first thing he noticed was the unique mask that the other man sported. He could almost see a tail swishing behind him. It fit his aesthetic well. The second thing he noticed was the hairstyle he had, it was quite cute and childish. It was something that Law definitely liked on him. His short stature and thin body was also quite appealing. Law idly wondered if he had time to play around with the waiter before he left.

Luffy sighed, rubbing his shoulder as the last glass was taken from his most recent tray. He should see if he could take a tray without drinks next, these drinks were a killer on his shoulder. 

As Luffy began to walk back towards the kitchen he suddenly found a hand coming around his waist and another began to fondle at his chest. Someone was holding him against their chest, touching him, Luffy shivered in disgust. 

“You’ve got such a sexy little body, huh? Huh?” The man breathed against his cheek, his breath fucking stank! Luffy cringed at the smell, anger beginning to boil over in his gut. “I’ve been watching you all night, how ‘bout I buy you for a little bit? Huh?” 

Luffy snapped, literally. He jerked his head forward and then back, headbutting the asshole in the face. Luffy heard a sickening crack, knowing he’d broken the fool’s nose. The moment the jerk let go Luffy turned on his heel, swinging his tray at the man’s head. His head snapped to the side and he crumpled the ground, Luffy huffed in anger at the unconscious body. 

Law’s eyes widened at the display. He’d seen the man go for the waiter and had expected the twig thin boy to be dragged off by the fat man but instead he’d witnessed something far funnier. That twig thin boy was apparently a brawler, not even hesitating to start with a headbutt. 

Law chuckled into his hand as the kid used his tray to knock out his attacker. 

He really hadn’t expected this, it was... interesting. 

Luffy felt immediate regret when the entire ballroom turned to look at him. They were all gasping and whispering, Luffy could swear some were glaring at him. 

“Brother!” A woman ran up to the knocked out man. She looked him over in concern before glaring fiercely at him under her beaded mask. “How dare you, you peasant! I’ll have you fired! No, I’ll have you arrested!” She screamed loud enough for her voice to echo off the walls. 

Luffy didn’t know what to do. Normally when he knocked someone out he could just run away but this was his job! If he left he wouldn’t get paid, and he really wanted that pay check! 

“I-I’m sorry, it was muscle memory. He snuck up on me!” Luffy tried to defend himself. 

A bang rattled the ballroom, cutting off the woman’s next word. The whole room looked over to the kitchen doors, where Zeff had kicked it open so hard it knocked against the wall. Zeff crossed his arms and looked over the situation with a quiet discernment. 

His eyes looked to the bloody tray, the knocked out man, Luffy’s still shivering back, and the woman’s nasty snarl. 

“Well?!” She shrilly screamed, stomping one heeled foot. “Fire him already! He is violent and a ruffian!” 

“Shut up!” Zeff barked at her. “We are Baratie! We make seafood that will leave you wanting more and we fight! Our reputation is well known, if you don’t like my waiters defending themselves then we can leave!” 

“Defending themselves?! Do you see what this villain did to my bro-“

“Yes! Defending themselves! That creep obviously touched my waiter!” Zeff snarled. “You’re lucky we don’t call the cops!” 

“Hey, if you don’t stop all the waiters will go,” someone in the crowd whispered to the woman. She was still steaming in rage but in the end snapped her fingers for men in black suits to come and drag the man away. She stomped out after them. 

Zeff looked back into the kitchen for a moment and yelled, “Sanji! Come attend to your friend! Looks like he needs a well deserved break!” 

Sanji was confidently walking out in a moment, coming straight for Luffy. 

Luffy breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t fired, and Zeff stood up for him. He knew he liked Zeff, the man was amazing. He was glad Sanji was coming to get him too, he hadn’t realized it but his knees were shaking. Maybe being sexually harassed for the first time ever had freaked him out more than he thought. 

Sanji walked up to Luffy and puffed out a breath of smoke from his cigarette. “C’mon Lu, let’s get some fresh air.”

Luffy could only nod and he followed Sanji out of the doors and into the hallway of the skyrise. Once they were outside Luffy collapsed against the wall and let out a shaky breath.

Sanji looked down at him with concern swimming in his eyes. “Just take a breather alright? I can’t stay out here with you but come back in when you’re ready.” With that Sanji walked back through the doors that they came out of.

Luffy leaned his head against the wall and took a couple of deep breaths. Moments later the door opened again and he assumed Sanji had come back to say something else. Instead he was met with a tall man dressed in a navy blue suit with a grey vest under it. The button up shirt he was wearing was a stark white and contrasted nicely with the striped black and blue tie he had on. He had on white gloves and a golden glittering mask that covered his eyes. He also had raven black hair and his sideburns were prominent and meshed well with the goatee he had.

Luffy looked at him in confusion before he apologized. “Oh, sorry, I don’t mean to be in your way. I’m just taking a break.”

The stranger chuckled at him. “No need to be sorry I actually came out here to have a word with you.”

“With me…?” Luffy asked hesitantly.

“Yes, well you could say I found your little stunt to be very amusing. Really I didn’t know you could pack so much into such a tiny person.”

Luffy felt himself grow prideful. He gave the man the best smile he could muster. “Well you should never judge a book by its cover.”

There was a moment of silence and Luffy saw the man’s eyes widen a bit. He wondered what he did to deserve that type of reaction. Before he could question it the man spoke again.

“Well, it’s certainly nice to meet you, my name is Trafalgar Law.”

Luffy blinked at him. “Tr-tor-torao? Well nice to meet you Torao, my name is Monkey D. Luffy.” He gave Law another one of his smiles.

Law’s heart once again fluttered in his ribcage at the sight of the smile. He had never thought he would see such a smile in the world again. Yet here he was looking at it. The infamous sunshine smile that he had thought was lost to him.

Normally he would have been insulted by the nickname. He would have corrected the person but looking at Luffy sitting on the floor and giving him that bright smile, he let it slide.

“Sure, you can call me Torao.” He walked over to Luffy and squatted down in front of him. “But I get to call you Sunshine.”

Luffy tilted his head in confusion. It was a little weird since he had no idea where the nickname had come from but he nodded his head anyway. “Yeah, okay!”

Suddenly the door opened and Sanji walked out. He glanced between the two of them with a look of suspicion. “Luffy, are you ready to come back in?”

Luffy turned to Sanji and nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Law took this moment to take his leave. He got up and dusted himself off, walking towards the doors. Before he walked in, however, he shot Luffy a grin that sent warning bells ringing through the other man. “See you later, Sunshine.” With that he disappeared through the doors and into the ballroom.

Luffy got up and dusted himself off as well. He shook off the residual fear that came from Law’s smile. He had seemed pretty nice. When he got to Sanji he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“Lu, who was that guy?” Sanji’s eyes were trained on Law’s back as he took another drag of his cigarette.

“I dunno, he’s just a guest at the party, I think. He came outside to chat with me after he saw what I did to the guy who was harassing me,” Luffy responded honestly.

Sanji looked down at Luffy. “Okay, well just be careful. You never know who these people are.”

Luffy nodded his head and they both walked back into the ballroom. Luffy headed for the trays and picked one up that had hors d’oeuvres, quickly getting back into the groove of his job.

Law headed back down to the table where his crew was. Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo all welcomed him back. He gave his own little greeting before sitting down. He grabbed a glass of champagne off of one of the waiters that were passing by and took a sip.

Law turned to Jean Bart, standing behind them and looking out for danger. “See what you can find on ‘Monkey D. Luffy’.”

When Jean Bart nodded Law’s eyes went back to focusing on the waiter in question. His golden eyes narrowed as he smirked. Law could see the way that Luffy shivered, as if he knew he was being watched. He took a certain satisfaction in knowing that he had an affect on him.

“You’re definitely going to be mine, Sunshine.”


	2. Chasing Sunshine

Luffy walked into Party’s cafe and immediately went to the pin board. He needed to see when the next fight was going to be. He scanned the board until he found the Grand Line Enterprises poster he was looking for. This time it was a new opening location sign. 

The poster boasted about its ‘new store’ opening in Goa Circle, a large collection of stores operated there and were considered prime territory. That’s what the next fight was for, Goa Circle. He kept reading and found that it advertised a meet and greet in central Grey Terminal. Luffy quickly took down the address, he’d need it to find the fight later. 

The last month had been going pretty good, the tips he’d earned from that fancy party had stretched further than he’d expected it to. He, for the first time in months, actually planned for a day off. Luffy was beyond excited. 

“Luffy!” The call came from behind him, making Luffy turn around in excitement. 

“Zoro!” Luffy grinned up at his best and oldest friend. He was only a little taller, but he was much bulkier than Luffy was. It made him appear much larger. Must be all that weight lifting!

Luffy was very excited to hang out with Zoro for the first time in ages. Zoro had been so busy with the dojo and Luffy had of course been busy as well. They hadn’t seen each other in forever. 

“Boys, I made you both a drink to go!” Makino grinned from the counter. She was so glad to see Luffy taking a day off. It was about time! “Black coffee for Zoro, and a raspberry cream soda for Luffy!” 

Luffy gasped in joy, bolting over to the counter to grab the sweet drink. Makino made the best drinks! 

“Thanks Makino!” Luffy beamed at her. Zoro was slower as he came over to grab his drink. 

“Thanks,” he said with a slight smile. “Luffy, let’s get a move on.”

“Yay! Adventure!” Luffy yelled, taking Zoro’s hand to start their day out. “Let’s go!”

* * *

  
  


“So he’s a street fighter, hm?”

Law rifled through the pages in the document he had in his hands. Everything that could be found on Monkey D. Luffy was in this file. Inked fingers gripped the papers and golden eyes scanned the pages, soaking up all of the information. 

He had gone out for lunch and was currently seated in the back of his Mercedes S-Class with Jean Bart acting as his chauffeur. Law had just finished going through all of Luffy’s fighting records when he heard loud laughing and yelling.

“LUFFY YOU FUCKING BASTARD GIVE IT BACK TO ME!”

Law looked up and saw Luffy dart past his car with a bento in his hand and a green haired man chasing after him.

“Why should I give it back to you? Is it because Sanji made it for you?” Luffy cackled.

He saw the green haired man blush as he chased Luffy past his car. 

“YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH! THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! I’M GOING TO SLICE YOU IN TWO!”

They continued down the street yelling at each other and Law furrowed his brows. Who the hell was that bastard and why was he so close to Luffy?

“Jean Bart, who was that man with Luffy?” Law’s golden eyes narrowed at the figure that was getting smaller and smaller as he went down the street.

“Roronoa Zoro, seems to be a close friend of Luffy’s.”

Law clicked his tongue and looked back down at the documents. He pulled up the next one and paused.

“Hm, so his brother is comatosed and staying in one of the hospitals I own. How interesting.”

* * *

  
  


Luffy walked into Pub and Pies, and went straight to the counter. He waved over one of the bartenders that were working.

The bartender gave him a smile. “What can I get you?”

Luffy gave one of his own smiles back. “Can you get me a Grand Finale?”

The bartender cast a quick glance around Luffy and nodded. “Sure I can! Name?”

“Monkey D. Luffy.”

The man gave a firm nod. “You know when and where?” 

“Of course,” Luffy assured him, taking a seat to be sure he got placed in the fights before he left. Luffy tapped his finger, looking around to see a few of the scattered customers also ordering a Grand Finale. He knew Goa Circle was a highly valued territory but it seemed the fight over the area would last longer than any he’d been in before. 

After a few minutes a green drink was placed before him, signifying that he’d been added to the fights. “You are the 2nd round, good luck.” Luffy nodded and quickly downed the drink. It was a show of strength to drink the strong mixture before leaving. Even if he didn’t like alcohol Luffy wasn’t about to make the mistake of not drinking it again. It did not end well that first time when some other fighters saw, thought him weak, and thought to take out some competition before the fights started. 

Luffy sat there for a bit longer, trying to keep his stomach from revolting against him. Everytime he drank he couldn’t eat for hours after that, which was very annoying. 

His head was spinning as the alcohol hit him hard, he was never able to handle any amount, no matter how many times he did this. 

Suddenly his head was hitting the bartop with enough force to make the wood creak ominously. A hand was holding his head down and it took Luffy a minute to even realize he was being attacked. 

“So you’re the _famous_ Monkey D. Luffy,” a cackling ugly laughter accompanied the voice talking right into his ear. Luffy shuddered when the man actually licked his ear while he talked. 

Luffy didn’t say anything, still trying to get a handle of what was going on. 

“I expected a big guy considering you’ve been defending the old Spade territories all by your lonesome,” he continued to talk so close to Luffy’s head that he could feel the moistness from his breath on his cheek. “I was going to offer to let you join my gang, help you defend and fight for those territories, but looks like you're just a lucky shrimp huh? What, are you fixing your fights?” 

Luffy glared at the wood table top. His head was throbbing and he wanted to beat this fucker off but it wasn’t worth it. This guy wasn’t worth his time. He was just a pompous jerk that wanted to flex his power. 

Finally the man released Luffy’s head from where he had him pinned against the bar top. Luffy lifted his head and turned up to look at the man. He had a mean face with a gnarly grin, his tongue was hanging out like his jaw might be broken. His blonde hair was buzz cut close to his head and a dirty blonde, and Luffy meant _dirty._

He was dressed like he thought he was the talk of the town but Luffy had never heard of him. He had a blue bedazzled coat over his shoulders, a tight black v-neck that went way too far down, and grey jeans that were much too tight. His family jewels had to be bruised in pants like those. 

Luffy sighed, placed his straw hat firmly on his head before getting up. He glared up at the man, giving him a look that conveyed how little he cared about his existence. The man didn’t seem to like that but Luffy didn’t care. 

Luffy turned and began to try to walk out. 

“Ey’ Bellamy, seems he has no respect for you. You’re the biggest up and comer! Show him who's boss!” Someone called and Luffy froze. It looked like he wasn’t getting out of here before this guy extracted his pound of flesh. 

Luffy wasn’t going to fight this weakling, there would be no point. 

Luffy turned and faced Bellamy again, standing straight and ready for whatever was coming. 

Bellamy grinned in an ugly manner as he grabbed his drink and filled his cheeks. He walked over to stand in front of Luffy, his cheeks puffed up, and liquid dripping down his chin. 

He spat it all in Luffy’s face, the force of it making some go up Luffy’s nose. Luffy winced, cringing at the smell of beer, and the feeling of it dripping into his socks. Gross, just gross. 

The first punch came soon after, the second not far behind. Bellamy kept hitting until he got bored and moved on to kicking Luffy in the stomach. Glass rained down on him as Bellamy’s group threw bottles at him. 

Luffy didn't remember how he left, he thought maybe a bartender had helped him up and led him out through the back. All he really knew was he ended up in the alley behind the bar, his back against the wall as he stared hollowly at the exit. 

Luffy hissed as he began the process of removing glass from his skin. He always hated guys like that, they thought that because they were bigger that they could do anything. He could have fought him but Luffy knew where that road ended, in a bloody puddle when all those big guys with bruised egos ganged up together. 

Luffy cursed a few times when a few of the shards ended up being deeper in his skin then he thought. 

He could hear someone at the opening of the alleyway and Luffy did his best not to make eye contact. That was just asking for another beating and Luffy didn’t know if he had it in him not to fight again tonight. 

Footsteps started coming towards him and his hands began to shake. Luffy knew he was strong but he had lost a lot of blood.... he didn’t think he could handle a full fight while at such a disadvantage at the moment. He was basically trapped and pretty injured. 

Luffy gulped at the footstep just kept coming towards him. They were even, a confident walk. Powerful and sure as they moved steadily towards him. Luffy still couldn’t bring himself to look up, his eyes firmly focused on the concert in front of him. This person, whoever they were, had a presence that seemed to crush Luffy down into the concrete. 

Luffy watched as a sleek pair of shoes stepped in front of him, they seemed to be made of black leather. His head was swimming in panic and he tried to focus on details. He recognized the symbols on the shoes and realized they were Gucci, so whoever this person was they were rich. 

The person kneeled down in front of him and Luffy noticed first and foremost the dark navy slacks the man wore. The man was crouched down and Luffy vaguely noted that he had the word ‘DEATH’ tattooed on his fingers. His panic shot up even more, what kind of fucking ganster was this person? His vision was swimming in and out, and he focused on the man’s cream shirt which was slightly printed with spots, the sleeves were rolled up and Luffy noticed he also had tattoos on the tops of his arms. He blinked and also noticed that the tie he was wearing was slightly undone. His eyes focused on a set of dog tags that glinted in the streetlight that hung around the man’s neck.

Now that this man was closer to Luffy he could practically suffocate under the man’s dangerous aura. He knew he needed to get away. This wasn’t someone that he wanted to tangle with. His mind was racing for ideas on how to get away when suddenly the man gently brought up his hand and used one of his fingers to tilt Luffy’s head up to look at his face. Luffy was surprised by how gentle the action was. It was a sharp contrast to the dominating aura that choked Luffy’s courage from his breath. 

As his head was raised Luffy felt his breath abandon him completely, piercing golden eyes met his own, and held them like he was debating taking them for himself. Luffy could imagine this terrifying person putting his eyes in a jar and placing them on a shelf for all to admire. 

He looked at the man and tried his hardest to focus through the blood loss and panic. He had wild black hair that framed his face and his sideburns were quite prominent but they matched the goatee he was sporting very well. His eyes were angled and made him look like he was glaring. He had tanned skin that looked just the right amount of sun kissed and molten gold eyes that almost matched the piercings on his ears that he had.

The only thing off about him was the expression on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were set into a deep frown. There was some emotion swimming in his eyes but Luffy couldn’t tell what it was.

Delicately, almost too delicate for such a person, a thumb ran over Luffy’s bloodied lip, wiping away the evidence of trauma. Luffy flinched, not knowing what to expect.

Bravely Luffy peeked up at him, the man’s mouth twisted as he seemed to examine the blood and growing bruises on Luffy’s face with the uneasy calmness of a back alley surgeon. He said nothing, just stared, every second felt heavy with tension. It was like the man was growing angry but he showed no outward sign of it. That in and of itself was frightening. Luffy’s eyes focused long enough to notice the faint blotches of white on his skin. 

Suddenly gold eyes snapped back to Luffy’s, staring him dead in the eye. Luffy’s heart skipped a beat at the quiet intensity swirling in those golden irises. 

Finally he spoke, his voice deep. It was dark and seemed to grip Luffy by his very soul. He spoke softly, his voice tense and _barely_ restraining his rage. “Who did this to you?”

Luffy’s heart stopped for a moment, his mind blaring at him to _run_ , run far away and never look back. Luffy did the only thing he could. He pulled his chin away from the man’s gentle finger with a yank and hissed from the painful movement. 

“None of your business,” Luffy managed to say despite the crushing pressure. 

His chin was grabbed and he was jerked forward. All gentleness was gone from his hands and his façade of calm was ripped away. Luffy ended up on his knees, staring up at the man as an icy shot of fear pierced his heart, making it slam against his rib cage frantically. 

“I _asked_ you a question, _Sunshine!”_

Luffy gulped, he knew he had to escape somehow. For now he would tell him the truth. “Some guys at the bar… I think someone named Bellamy…?” he questioned softly.

The man let out a growl and let go of his chin. He stood up and barked orders at a man outside of the alley. While his back was turned Luffy made a run for it. He got up and ignored his spinning head, quickly making his way towards the other end of the alley. He was careful to silence his running footsteps so the other man wouldn’t notice that he was getting away. He began to climb the fence only to hear a yell behind him.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

Luffy felt his heart drop down to his stomach in fear. He scrambled up the chain link fence and hopped off to continue running on the other side. He heard the other man start running his way and he pushed himself to go faster. He refused to be caught by this person, he didn’t know what he was capable of doing. Hell, he could even wind up dead!

Luffy darted out towards the streets and willed himself to focus on where he was going. The panic and blood loss were not helping with his sense of direction. He heard the man running behind him and he pushed himself to go faster. His heart was raging wildly in his chest and he felt like his legs could give out at any moment. Yet somehow, his self preservation instincts kept him going. 

He sped in and out of alleyways and into different streets. Luffy jumped over boxes and sometimes cars to get where he wanted to be. He didn’t even know where he was headed, only that he wanted to get away from the man.

He chanced a look behind him and found that there was no one there. His body sagged with relief as he jogged to a stop. Luffy slumped to the ground and clutched his hoodie over his chest. Who the hell was that psycho? His legs were aching from his long run and his head was still swimming. He knew he had to rest a bit before he could get himself back home. 

Luffy glanced around him and realized that he actually wasn’t too far from his place. It would only be about a ten to fifteen minute walk back to his house. He was eternally grateful that he hadn’t managed to somehow run himself to the other side of town. Which had happened before. 

Picking himself up, he started making his way back. He wanted to get at least a good night’s rest and bandage himself up before his shift tomorrow. 

When he finally got home he was exhausted beyond belief. He unlocked the door and walked towards his bedroom where all of his medical supplies were. Luffy trudged in and slumped onto his bed for a bit before getting back up and sliding the medi kit out from under his bed. He made sure to disinfect all of his wounds before bandaging the ones that were deep and bleeding. By the end of it he was sore all over.

Luffy changed out of his tattered hoodie and jeans, deciding that he would patch up his hoodie tomorrow. He slipped on a t-shirt and some shorts before diving into his bed and curling up under the threadbare blankets he had.

He ended up tossing and turning for hours. He couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. It made his skin crawl with fear and his heart race in his chest. Of course Luffy knew that there was no way that someone would be watching him but that didn’t help his paranoia. Finally in the early morning hours before the sun came up he finally started drifting off to sleep.

Before he could fall asleep however his eyes snapped open as he realized something.

“He called me Sunshine…” 

* * *

  
  


Luffy walked into Party’s cafe absolutely exhausted. He hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night at all. He was up all night thinking about Torao and how dangerous of a person he must be. He was worrying over all of their interactions and wondered how in the world he got tangled up in this mess. He groaned as he moved his body. He was still sore from all his injuries.

Makino glanced at him worriedly from her place behind the counter. “Luffy are you okay?”

He was startled at the sudden question and tried giving her his best smile. “Of course, Makino! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You just seem to be lost in thought a lot and I see you have some new bruises…” She trailed off.

Luffy brushed it off like it was nothing. “It’s not anything you should be worried about. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

Makino sighed. “Luffy, you know it’s okay to rely on other people, right?”

Luffy chuckled. “Of course I do, it’s just not anything big that would be enough to concern you.”

“Whatever you say… Just know that I’ll always be here for you!” She gave him a reassuring smile.

Luffy felt his heart warm at her words. “Yeah, I know. Thanks, Makino.”

Luffy headed back to get his apron and let his smile drop as he left her view. He felt dead on his feet, his stomach had bruises and somehow he was still finding glass in his skin. 

He didn’t want to tell Makino about Torao, he just didn’t want to worry her. Plus it wasn’t like that man was going to keep coming after him, right? His friends said he was attractive, or whatever, but it wasn’t like he was special enough to gain a stalker. That would just be ridiculous, and the universe didn’t hate him _that_ much. 

Luffy went about his day, as his work day got busier the pain and exhaustion slowly melted away. Halfway through his shift the Cafe hit a lull, only two or three customers in the shop. The types of people that stay all day in a good cafe, headphones on, working on their computers, and lost in their own world. Luffy always enjoyed this part of the day. 

“I’m going to run a few errands while it’s slow, you okay to run the counter by yourself?” Makino asked as she took off her apron. 

“Yeah, I can manage!” Luffy gave her a big grin as the bell that announced new customers sang through the air. Makino gave him a small smile back as she walked past the new customer and out. 

The man that had just walked in was wearing a white jacket that looked like it was made of raincoat material and black jeans. The jacket had a turtleneck and a button at the top but it was currently undone, revealing the black shirt that he was wearing. There was also a weird symbol on the breast of the jacket, it looked like a skull with spikes sticking out and it was yellow colored. What was peculiar about him was the hat on top of his head was an odd mix of a baseball cap and an eskimo hat. There was even a little puffball on the end of it. The hat itself was black and white while the bill of the hat was yellow. Printed at the top in bold letters was the word ‘PENGUIN’.

“Hi, welcome to Party’s!” Luffy gave his best customer service smile. “What can I get for you?”

The man smirked, leaned over to look in the display case, silently looking over the cakes and goodies inside. “Are you interested in some of our fresh baked goods? Everything is made right here,” Luffy felt oddly out of place when the man didn’t speak, uncharacteristically trying to fill the silence. 

“Do you make them?” He finally asked. 

“Oh no, I’d get this place shut down after I poisoned all the customers. Makino makes them all herself, she’s the owner.” Luffy winced when he realized he was rambling. This guy gave him the creeps! He couldn’t help it. 

“Hm,” he hummed, straightening up to look over the menu. “I’ll just have a black coffee then,” he smirked again to punctuate his words. Luffy once again felt _watched_ . He turned away to grab a cup and began to pour the coffee, the man’s eyes digging into his back. He didn’t leave the counter, didn’t find a seat, just stood there, _watching him._

Luffy sighed in relief when he put the lid on the coffee and turned back. “That will be 2.75,” Luffy mumbled, just wanting him to go. 

He handed him the amount in exact change, he seemed to have it all ready too but Luffy hadn’t seen or heard him reach for a wallet. His skin crawled at the realization that he’d had the amount ready _before_ entering the store. 

Quickly Luffy put the money in the register and picked up the coffee to hand it over. 

“Have a nic-“

The man grabbed him by his arm and yanked him halfway over the counter so far that his feet were no longer on the ground. Luffy gasped, eyes widening at the sudden action. The man leaned in close and gave him a serious look. 

“Be careful running away next time, _Sunshine_. You wouldn’t want to anger him.” Luffy stumbled back, released before he could even struggle. The man straightened up and gave him another smirk as he tipped his hat gentlemanly. “Have a nice day, and thank you for the service.”

With no further ado, he left. 

His knees shook and as soon as the bell stopped ringing he fell to his knees, dread coiling around his entire being. Luffy wasn’t even aware of the golden eyes that stared at him through the shop window.


	3. Calling Sunshine

Luffy sat in Nami’s living room, a bowl of popcorn in his lap. The news was playing on the TV, although it was more for Nami to watch than Luffy. He didn’t particularly care about anything that was going on.

They cut back to the news from the commercials and he heard the news anchor speak up.

“For tonight’s news, we have a very tragic story for you all today. The Surgeon of Death strikes again. This time his victims totalled fifteen people all from the Bellamy gang. Although, there were no reports of Bellamy himself in that count. He is currently missing and police are scrambling to find him. The Surgeon of Death once again holds no ounce of mercy as all the hearts of the victims were removed from their bodies.”

Luffy felt his eyes widen and his jaw go slack. There was no way that could have been a coincidence. How fucked up was his life? His heart was racing in his chest. Did he really get tangled up with the Surgeon of Death himself? He almost wanted to cry at the thought.

Suddenly he heard Nami’s voice as she left Nojiko in the kitchen to sit down next to Luffy. “Oh my God, that’s so terrible. I hope they catch that psycho soon…”

Luffy couldn't breathe, just staring at the blurred picture of carnage on the screen. Only the Bellamy gang was harmed, everyone else in the bar had been ordered to leave but because they were all criminals, no one was giving up any information. 

Everyone knew you didn’t speak of the Surgeon Of Death unless you wanted to lose your heart next. 

“Yea-yeah, terrible,” Luffy whispered when Nami seemed to wait for a response from him. 

“You need to be extra careful, Luffy,” Nami gave him a serious look as she spoke. Her entire focus on him. “I know you go to those areas for your extra jobs, and you’re naive, so please just be very careful, alright?” 

Luffy swallowed down the bile in his throat and gave her a nod. He did his best to not look as afraid as he felt. 

“In any case, I’m glad you are staying over here for a few nights. We worry about you all alone at your house.” Luffy was glad too. He’d kept himself from asking to stay in his friends' homes since he wanted to keep his and Ace’s house warm for when he wakes. Even though Luffy hated sleeping alone, he’d been determined to keep their house, but with the warning from that man at the shop fresh in his mind, Luffy was hesitant to go anywhere alone. 

“Thanks again for letting me stay,” Luffy said. He was relieved to feel like he wasn’t being watched for once. 

Nojiko chuckled from where she was making dinner in the kitchen, near the front room of the apartment. “Stay as long as you need, Luffy, we love having you over. Even if you do eat for five.” Najiko gave him a teasing look before ducking back into the kitchen. 

Nami smiled after her sister before looking back to Luffy. “Seriously, we don’t mind putting you up. Just don’t eat us out of house and home.” 

Luffy laughed, letting her know that he’d definitely try. 

Nami turned the news off, the latest mass killing too much even for her. Slowly then tension left Luffy as he caught up with Nami. 

“So, there I was! Hand in that huge safe when suddenly I heard voices coming from down the hall!”

Luffy gave a gasp of surprise, even knowing most of her burgling ended with some frantic story. Nami routinely set her sights way to high and got in over her head. Luckily she had nine lives and a wit that normally got her out of bad situations. 

“Nami!” Nojiko gasped, upset that she was still putting herself in bad situations. 

“What did you do?!” Luffy asked, both teens ignoring the purple haired elder of the three. 

“I filled my pockets as much as I could, slammed the safe shut, and raced under the bed!” Nami grinned as she weaved together her tale of daring and almost dying. “You couldn’t imagine my surprise when the bed was soon rocking!”

“NAMI!” Nojiko yelled, her eyes going wide. 

“Nojiko, sex is sex, grow up.” Nami turned back to Luffy, who was laughing even if he didn’t know anything about sex. “So the bed started rocking, I could hear the moans and groaning. I had to wait out until they were done, and of course sit through some real gross pillow talk. But then, once they were falling asleep and I could sneak out, guess what I saw!” 

“Ew, Nami, I don’t think I want to know,” Najiko gagged while pushing her plate away. 

“It’s nothing gross, I’m not going to describe a dick to you over dinner! Ye of so little faith!” Nami rolled her eyes at her sister. 

“Nami! Come on tell me what you saw!” Luffy whined, sick of being in suspense. 

Nami grinned, getting back into the flow of her story. “Alright, so I was in the middle of sneaking out when I decided I just had to see these two dudes that had so much stamina, I mean  _ so much stamina _ . You can’t imagine my shock when I saw it was the bickering game bosses!” Nami slammed down her hands to emphasize her surprise. “Sir Crocodile and Doflamingo are  _ always  _ fighting over territory! I almost woke them in my shock!” 

Luffy scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. “But if they’re together, then why are they always fighting?” 

“Maybe it’s like their foreplay?” Nami shrugged but clarified when she saw Luffy was still confused. “Like how Zoro and Sanji are always fighting but you just know they only need to fuck.”

“NAMI! LANGUAGE!” Nojiko demanded, punching Nami in the arm. “What are you doing corrupting Luffy?! He’s an innocent!” 

Nami began to laugh, Luffy already laughing at the two sisters. Soon Nojiko was laughing as well. 

Luffy couldn't have been happier. In comparison to the last few months of lonely dinners by himself, this night was a god sent. 

Their laughter was cut off by Nojiko’s phone ringing. Nojiko stood to answer it while Nami and Luffy continued on with their conversation. Luffy talking about how Makino was doing and informing her what the doctors said about Ace’s condition. Being what they always said, Ace’s injuries had been very intense and while he wasn’t brain dead, there was no telling if he would ever wake up. It was all just a matter of time. 

Luffy hated things that were a matter of time. 

“Luffy?” 

Luffy looked up at Nojiko as she held the phone against her chest. “Yeah?”

“Your friend called for you,” she said as she handed him the phone. 

“Oh.” Luffy frowned. It was weird that she didn’t name the friend. She knew all his friends because they were all Nami’s friends too. Luffy took the phone, feeling odd that someone would call on Nojiko’s phone for him. He guessed they kinda used it as a house phone since Nami was too cheap to get one for herself. 

Luffy held the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Who are those women and what is your relationship?” Luffy froze, his heart practically stopping. He recognized the voice immediately. 

Luffy didn’t even think about it, he just hung up. 

For a moment Luffy just stared at the phone like it might bite him, not knowing what to do now. His mind was buzzing. How did he get Nojiko’s number? Why was he calling for him?! How did he know Luffy was here?! The feeling of being watched came back in full force and Luffy scanned the buildings across the street and the parked cars on the road. 

Luffy jumped a foot in the air when the phone began to ring again. He checked to see Nami and Nojiko were still talking with each other before making a vague excuse about taking the call on the balcony. The number was different but somehow Luffy knew it was  _ him. _

Luffy tried to calm his heart as he shakily accepted the call and pressed it to his ear. Immediately the hard edged voice snapped at him, “ _ Do not _ make me repeat myself,  _ Sunshine!” _

Luffy growled in his throat, beyond frustrated with this harassment. “What do you want from me?!” Luffy yelled, still looking around to see if he truly was being watched. He scared Luffy to death in that alley, killed people, sent a man to threaten him at his job, and now he was calling him on his friend’s phone! Fuck this guy! “What the hell did I ever do to you?!” 

A chuckle sent a wave of fear down Luffy's spine. It wasn’t soft or joyous, but mean and cold; he was mad. “Didn’t do anything but bring sunshine back into my life.” 

Luffy pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it in befuddlement. His head was spinning from the confusion. For a moment he considered hanging up again but the fear and confusion kept him talking. “What the hell does that mean?” 

Law chuckled again, lighter this time. “It means what I said.” His voice went from lightly teasing to deadly serious in a heartbeat. “Now answer my question. Who are those women and what is your relationship with them?” 

Luffy glared at the railing, fixing his hat over his head as he ground his teeth. He was so over being dominated by this guy. He didn’t fucking care if he was some big shot killer, Luffy wouldn’t be pushed around! “They are none of your business! Leave me alone!” Luffy quickly hung up again, his heart racing from the bolt of courage. 

Law let out a growl from where he sat in his office, glancing at the screen to show the two women still sitting at their table. They had such a cheap security system, very easy to hack into the stream. He would call only once more, and if his Sunshine wronged him again, then he’d go ask in person. See how Luffy ignored him then! He dialed again, listening to it ring as he tapped his knuckles on the desk, irritated. 

Luffy felt his chest tighten as yet another new number began to flash on the phone screen. It rang again and again as Luffy’s chest rose and fell quicker with every ring. Ready to yell at him again, no mater how stupid it was! With bile clawing up his throat, Luffy answered. 

“Fuc-“ Luffy began to yell but was cut off by an icy tone, not unlike the sharp slice of a scalpel. 

“I could kill them, Sunshine. It would be easy, but that all depends on what you say next.” 

Luffy froze again, his fingers clutching the railing in panic. His heart raced in his chest and he quickly understood that he needed to watch what he said next. It seemed this man was done playing and the safety of his friends was on the line. Nami and Nojiko waved at him through the glass, completely unaware of the danger they were in. Luffy would do anything for them. 

“I-I...I’m sorry!” Luffy quickly forced out. “They are just close friends, nothing more,” he answered the man’s question. He just hoped that was the end of this. 

Law hummed, smirking at the quick change in attitude. He knew his Sunshine would see it his way. “That’s much better,” he rumbled into the phone. “Nothing more? Are you sure?” 

Luffy’s stomach churned with dread. This bastard knew exactly how to manipulate him. “I’m sure,” he said with a voice of finality. 

The man didn’t say anything for a long moment and Luffy slowly grew the nerve to ask him a question. 

“Why… Why do you care?”

Law hummed again. “Isn’t that obvious? Of course it’s because you belong to me.”

With that, the man hung up and Luffy didn’t know what to do. He wanted to scream, wanted to cry, wanted to bash his head into the railing until he woke up from this nightmare. He  _ belonged  _ to this sicko? What the hell?! What the hell was even going on?!

The balcony door opened and Luffy turned to see Nami staring at him with concern. 

“Lu? You’ve been just staring at the phone for awhile... Are you okay?” she asked, nibbling on her lip. She looked at his expression, furrowing her brows at how scared he looked. Luffy never looked scared. “What’s going on?”

Luffy opened and closed his mouth, trying to grasp onto the strength to shutter his emotions. He needed to hide how afraid and confused he was before he worried her. He didn’t want her to have to deal with his problems too. 

He looked at her wide eyed. Her amber eyes looked at him with love, concern, and open understanding. “I-I’m fine,” Luffy tried, his breath hitching and tears welling in his eyes. “I’m... Nami!” Luffy broke down in tears. He just couldn't keep up the act any longer! Not after that conversation. It had been more like an interrogation. 

Nami gasped as Luffy fell into her arms, causing them both to stumble back into the apartment. Nojiko jumped up, worried over the sudden change in Luffy’s behavior. She hovered at the fringes as Nami and Luffy dropped to the floor, Luffy sobbing into her chest as she held him. 

Nami held him tight. She had never seen never seen Luffy get like this before. She wanted to know what was happening, why he was acting like this, but she didn’t want to push him. They’d all known Luffy was struggling with something for a while now, they all just assumed he’d talk about it when he was ready. What with Ace, Garp, and Dadan all knew, Luffy had a lot to deal with at the moment. 

So Nami didn’t question him, just held him as he cried. She pet his hair and tried to calm him down. 

Law frowned as Luffy broke down into tears, hugging the woman. Who did she think she was? No one should be able to touch his Sunshine like that except him! 

His heart twisted as the anguish on Luffy’s face. He hadn’t wanted this, he wanted Luffy to be smiling and happy... He would have to do something to fix this and make Luffy smile again. Perhaps a present would help?

* * *

  
  


Smoker walked into the hospital and nodded his head at the receptionist. He had his usual bouquet of pink and red camellias with chamomile gripped in his hand. He had put out his cigar outside before walking in. His combat boots tapped against the tile as he made his way towards the familiar room.

Opening the door, Smoker couldn’t help the bittersweet smile that came across his face. It was almost like Ace was just sleeping if he thought about it, like he could wake up at any time. He was almost like Sleeping Beauty. Ace certainly had the looks for it.

Smoker walked over to the bedside and set the flowers on the tableside. He sat down in one of the seats and began speaking softly.

“I hope you like the flowers I got you. I actually put quite a bit of thought into the meaning.”

He knew that Ace wouldn’t respond but he felt like his words could reach him somehow.

“I know I say this everytime I come here but I can’t get over my guilt… I’m sorry I shot you. It was a misfire. You’re probably tired of hearing that but I feel the need to keep apologizing because I’m the reason you’re in a coma.” Smoker sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He felt the need to smoke well up inside of him.

He let out a laugh. “People are actually pretty angry at me for that. The businesses that you had under your territory refuse to serve me.”

“They see me as a villain, and in all honesty, I probably really  _ am _ the villain. How could I put a kid like you in the hospital? What the fuck is wrong with me?” Smoker balled his fists up as he berated himself.

He took a deep breath and let himself calm down. “I almost got here when your brother was here. I’m still too much of a coward to face him. I want to apologize to him as well for taking you away but I don’t think he would appreciate seeing the person who put his brother into a coma.”

Smoker let out another sigh. “I’m honestly really riddled with guilt. I even quit my job on the forces and became a body guard instead. I hope that you’ll wake up soon so I can apologize to you properly… For your brother’s sake as well. I know he’s struggling quite a bit without you.”

“I wish I could help him… God, I really wish that you’d just wake up. Everything would be so much easier if you could open your eyes. I feel like I took everything away from you…” He slumped in his chair.

He rested his head on his hand and stared at Ace. “Honestly I don’t know why I’m so infatuated with you. You just seemed like an amazing person taking care of your brother and keeping businesses safe from other gangs, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. All thanks to me, really. Sorry I’m being so negative. I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that.”

Smoker smiled gently. “On a brighter note, there’s at least one business that was under you that hasn’t banned me. Party’s cafe is a nice place. Makino is a very nice woman. I usually go to her when your brother is off work and ask about how he’s doing. He seems to be managing okay by himself but he’s still struggling a bit.”

“Makino tells me a lot about you, actually. You seem like a good kid. I would love it if you could wake up and tell me about it yourself…”

He sat back up in his chair. “Everytime I go to the cafe I get your favorite cinnamon rolls and the peanut butter coffee that you seemed to like so much. Honestly I didn’t expect the coffee to be as good as it is. The cinnamon rolls are also really good. I can see why you like them so much.”

Smoker checked his watch and realized that he needed to get back to work. “Sorry for not being able to stay longer but I have to get back to work. Rest well, Ace. I hope you wake up soon…”

With that, Smoker got up from his chair and made his way out of the hospital. He nodded his head in goodbye to everyone he recognized as he passed and stepped out into the fresh open air. He ran a hand through his hair again and lit up a cigar as he walked back to his Spyder motorcycle. He leaned against it and inhaled the sweet nicotine into his lungs for a bit before getting on.

Smoker put on his helmet and took off towards his workplace.

* * *

  
  


Luffy bid Nami and Nojiko goodbye as he stepped out to go to work that morning. He turned around and spotted a wrapped present at the front of the door. The wrapping paper itself was patterned with small suns on a blue background. Luffy felt his skin crawl when he spotted the note at the top. He picked it up and all it said was ‘To my Sunshine. Excited to see you fight, can’t wait until you use this gift - Torao’. There was even a small heart next to the words.

He felt fear pool into his gut. What the fuck could be in this box? It was small though, so hopefully it wouldn’t be anything too bad. He really hoped that it wasn’t anything too bad. Luffy’s mind raced with all the possibilities it could be and decided that it would be best to just open it.

Tearing the paper off of the box revealed black velvet with the same skull symbol in gold that he saw on the stranger’s jacket the day at the cafe. He put two and two together and realized that it must be Law’s symbol. 

Luffy gingerly pulled the top off of the box and gasped when he saw two brass knuckles that looked to be made out of gold. With what he knew about Law it was probably made out of real gold. He picked them up and turned them around. His eyes grew to the size of saucers when he saw that on the middle knuckle was Law’s symbol bedazzled in diamonds. Was this fucker made out of money?

He looked around to see if anyone was around still that might have dropped the package off or if anyone saw who did, but there was no one around. Luffy slipped the brass knuckles and the note into his pocket and looked at the box. He really felt bad about leaving such a nice box out there in the open, so he went back inside and put it on the table. He would decide what to do with it later.

Nami and Nojiko questioned the box but Luffy waved it off saying he didn’t have time to explain and would be late for work. He made his way out of the door once again and started walking towards Party’s cafe. They lived relatively close so Luffy could just walk there. It was really convenient.

He fiddled with the brass knuckles in his pocket and suddenly it all made sense to him. Law was trying to recruit him for his gang! That’s what he meant when he said that he was his. That’s why he was always talking about his fighting. Luffy felt his heart calm somewhat now that he knew that Law wasn’t exactly out for him as a person but him as a fighter.

Luffy walked into Party’s cafe with a bright smile on his face and a weight lifted off his shoulders. He had dealt with many gang leaders who tried to recruit him into their gang so he felt like he knew how to deal with Law now. 

He was still scared, but normally he could get out of situations like this with just a few well placed punches. For now he’d use the brass knuckles to not anger the gang leader further. He wouldn’t want to start a rivalry with such a dangerous man, but he’d need to make it clear after his next fight that he had no interest in joining a gang himself. He was a gang of one, thank you very much!

“Luffy! You’re certainly looking better today,” Makino called the moment he walked in. The relief was making him smile brightly and his relaxed shoulders must be doing wonders for how he looked. 

Makino had been very concerned when she returned to find Luffy hiding in the back room yesterday. He was glad to put her worries at ease today. 

“Mhmm!” Luffy slipped to the counter. “Better and ready to work hard!” 

“Well good! It’s Saturday so we’re sure to be busy.” Makino clapped her hands and Luffy laughed as he went to collect his apron. 

From outside a sleek black car paused in front of the small cafe. Law rolled down the window and gave a soft look as his Sunshine practically danced around as he worked. The present had been a good choice if it made him this happy. 

“All good, sir?” Jean Bart asked from the driver's seat. 

“Yes, it appears everything is fine,” Law said. He rolled the window back up as the car moved forward. 

If a simple pair of brass knuckles made Luffy this happy, then Law was excited for tonight. His Sunshine would be brighter than the actual sun when he saw his second present at the fights tonight. 


	4. Catching Sunshine

Luffy made his way to the same familiar hospital. He gave the receptionist a warm smile as he passed by her and headed down to the room where Ace was staying. He always visited Ace before he went to one of his fights.

He walked into the room and noticed the fresh flowers on the tableside. Luffy sat down in one of the chairs near Ace’s bed and began telling him about all of the events that had happened in the past few weeks. He talked about how there was a whole misunderstanding of him having a stalker when it was really just a scary gang that was trying to recruit him.

Luffy laughed and pretended like Ace could laugh along with him just like he did before the raid. He told Ace about how he was keeping up his territories and his recent victories among other things. He updated him on his job at Party’s cafe and told him about the grand party that had gotten him so many tips.

Eventually Luffy’s phone rang and that signalled him that it was time to get going to his next fight. He sighed and bid goodbye to his brother, squeezing his hand in his own. He got up from his chair and made his way out of the hospital, giving smiles to everyone that passed him. 

When he finally made it to the alleyway where the fight was supposed to happen he was surprised to find that there were no traps on his first look around. He checked around once again and still came up with nothing. He sighed in relief as he didn’t have anything he needed to avoid.

Luffy looked up at the rooftops and saw that people were starting to gather. He flipped up his hoodie and placed his straw hat over it. There was quiet murmuring and shuffling from people who were already placing bets. He fiddled with the brass knuckles in his pocket a bit before he slipped them onto his hands. Luffy didn’t want to deal with the consequences of not wearing the present. He didn’t know what a man like Law could think of doing.

There was five minutes before the scheduled fight was supposed to happen and Luffy was looking down the alleyway for a glimpse of his opponent. Suddenly there were two figures emerging at the end of the alleyway and Luffy tensed up. One of them seemed vaguely familiar. He was big and bulky with what looked like flame tattoos on his forehead above where his eyebrows were supposed to be. The man had long hair that went down to his back and sideburns that were unruly to all hell.

When Luffy saw the other man he almost choked on nothing. Standing there looking as enraged as ever was Bellamy. Luffy’s eyes widened considerably. He thought this man was dead! Luffy once again sensed the same dominating presence that he had become familiar with and glanced up. His eyes immediately met with Law’s golden ones. The other man was standing on his own secluded place on the rooftop. There were two people on each side of him and Luffy recognized one of them from his encounter at Party’s cafe. Law gave him a smirk and a small wave. Luffy in turn glared at him.

Luffy’s attention was brought back in front of him when the burly man pushed Bellamy forward harsh enough that he stumbled a bit. Bellamy looked like he had gone through hell. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was a mess. It was even dirtier than it was when Luffy first saw him. Bellamy clenched his fists in anger and flinched. Luffy wondered why he flinched but took a closer look and was horrified to see that many of his fingernails were missing. What happened to this man?!

Bellamy growled at him and charged. “You fucking punk! You sicced your boyfriend on me! What, couldn’t face me like a man because you’re too weak?!”

Luffy dodged Bellamy’s attempt to tackle him and furrowed his eyebrows. “Boyfriend? I didn’t sic anyone on you!”

Bellamy scoffed as he threw a punch at Luffy. “Oh yeah? Then tell me why my whole gang is dead and why I’ve been tortured for the past three days!”

Luffy felt sick to his stomach as he ducked under Bellamy’s fist . “It’s not my fault! Torao is insane. I didn’t ask him to do any of that!”

“Fuck you, it’s all your fault. I’m going to fucking kill you right here, right now!” Bellamy charged at Luffy again and delivered a roundhouse kick when he got close enough.

Luffy jumped back so it didn’t hit him. “You don’t have to fight me! I don’t want to hurt you.”

Bellamy laughed almost hysterically as he threw punch after punch at Luffy. “ _ You _ don’t want to hurt  _ me _ ? It’s more like I really want to kill you and you can’t do anything to stop me.”

Luffy side stepped and ducked under each blow. It seemed like Bellamy wasn’t going to listen to him. “Listen to me! I’ll give you one more chance to back down. You don’t have to do this!”

“I really have to do this! You fucked up my whole life, do you hear me? My whole life! Now you’re gonna pay!” Bellamy growled and charged at Luffy once again.

Luffy sighed as he realized that Bellamy was a lost cause. He had to end this as soon as possible. As Bellamy approached him, Luffy cocked back his fist and landed a punch right on Bellamy’s cheek. He sent the other man crashing into the pavement with enough force to break some of his bones. There were a few sickening cracks that reverberated throughout the alleyway and Luffy looked down at Bellamy’s unmoving body.

Luffy could see the imprint of Law’s symbol where he had hit Bellamy. It was almost like he was branded. Luffy hated it so much. Is this what Law wanted? For Luffy to brand all of his victims like this? He absolutely despised it!

Bellamy was bleeding on the ground and Luffy gave him a disgusted look. He slipped off the brass knuckles that Law had given to him and threw them down on the ground next to Bellamy. He looked up and glared at Law who was giving him an angry yet confused look.

“I’m not going to be your fucking underling!” Luffy spat.

He turned around and began walking away when suddenly he was grabbed by the burly man from before who was with Bellamy.

Luffy shot the burly man an enraged look and ripped his arm away from him. The move pushed him back towards Bellamy’s unconscious body. The large man then placed himself between Luffy and the exit. 

Behind the man Luffy could see people scurrying away, whispers of not getting involved with the Heart Gang on their lips. 

Luffy glared up at the man, trying to calculate his odds of beating him in a fight before the rest of his Gang showed up. He was a lot bigger, but Luffy knew he packed a punch. 

“Move,” Luffy hissed. He couldn’t start a gang war since he couldn’t win one alone, so he tried to just get the guy to move. He didn’t. He silently stared down at Luffy, his knuckles cracked as he curled his fists in an intimidating manner. 

Luffy snarled at him before turning on a dime and running for the other side of the alley. Before he got to it three others stepped out to block his path. A woman with a headband and a bandage on her face smirked at him, two men with masks backing her up. All three wore the same rain jacket as the man from the incident at his job. 

Luffy stopped, feeling tension coil in his stomach and sit like a rock weighing him down. The three weren’t even looking at him, but at someone behind him. 

When he glanced back up, he found Law was gone from where he’d been before. His nerves were buzzing, making everything feel way too intense. Luffy was going to be sick. 

Slowly he turned around, his face set in a steely expression and not at all surprised to see the imposing figure of Law. He now stood before the burly man, his stance almost casual. He had his hands in the pockets, his shoulders relaxed. 

Luffy didn’t look away when smoldering gold eyes leveled on him. Luffy was furious! His teeth were grinding and he could feel the sting of his own nails digging into his palms. 

The longer Luffy looked at him the more he was able to see the cracks in his calm facade. 

Gold eyes looked to the abandoned brass knuckles and he raised a brow as he looked back to Luffy. “Did you not like your present, Sunshine?” 

Luffy’s entire body jolted from the rush of rage he felt. It was all consuming. Luffy felt like he could see red. 

“My present?” Luffy spat, his lips twisting into a snarl. 

“One of a few.” He shrugged like it didn’t matter but Luffy could see the way his teeth were starting to bare themselves, ruining his uncaring act.

“Well, I don’t want them!” Luffy stomped a foot. “The best  _ present _ you could give me is to get the fuck out of my life!” 

Luffy felt as if he should regret his words when Law’s lips twitched, and he could practically see the way his chest rumbled with a growl, but he  _ didn’t.  _ Luffy just kept going, burying himself deeper into a hole. 

“Was this,” he pointed to Bellamy, “a  _ present _ too? You’re fucking sick! Who the hell rips off someone’s nails?! Why?!” Luffy felt like a bull ready to charge. The only thing holding him back was a thin veil of reasoning telling him he couldn’t take this man on. Certainly not by himself while Law had back up. 

Law stepped forward and almost by instinct Luffy jumped back. He hunched slightly, like an animal being backed into a corner, he was ready to attack. 

“That,” he indicated to Bellamy by kicking him hard in the stomach, “is an unworthy piece of scum. I figured you’d like some revenge for how he treated you. That was your present.”

Luffy narrowed his eyes. Fighting someone already beaten up felt like cheating. It left a bad taste in his mouth. Luffy didn’t want to win like that! 

“And everything else you did to him? The people you  _ fucking _ killed?!”

“That was punishment,” Law growled. “Firstly, he didn’t deserve to wear my uncle's mark, and secondly, he harmed what is mine.”

Luffy glanced around to Bellamy and spotted the gang mark tattooed on his chest. The mark was familiar but he again couldn’t place it. 

“That’s the...” The air left Luffy as he remembered. The Donquixote Gang! This man... Law, he was more dangerous than Luffy had thought. 

Luffy’s wide eyes snapped back to Law, feeling himself shake as he took three more steps back. This was bad!  _ No one _ messed with the Donquixote, not when he was backed by multiple other large gangs, had paid men in the police forces, and had a hand in all black market goods. 

Messing with the Donquixote was a death sentence. If Law was connected to him, then Luffy was in a deeper hole than he’d thought. It was like the walls were closing in. 

Still, Luffy wasn’t willing to fold. “Look, I appreciate whatever the hell the thought was behind all  _ this, _ but I’m a gang of one. I’m not interested in joining your gang.”

The effect of his words was startling and panic inducing. Laughter filled the alley way and it was nowhere near joyous. It was like the mocking of a pack of hyenas. 

Even Law chuckled slightly, pity for Luffy’s apparent stupidity in his cold, predatory eyes. 

“Oh Sunshine, how silly you are.” He began to approach, a smirk fixed on his face. “Don’t worry, I don’t want you to join my gang.”

Luffy kept backing away, his eyes flitting around, trying to find a way to escape. He almost screamed when hands grabbed him, the woman at his back and holding him still. Luffy shakily glared at Law as he stopped in front of him. 

“You don’t?” Luffy tried to keep his voice hard. He wouldn’t fold, he wouldn’t,  _ he wouldn’t!  _

The only response he got was a mocking smile before Law just continued past him. “Bring him, we’re going home.” 

Luffy was then steered out of the alleyway and he quickly became panicked. “Excuse me? Where the fuck are you taking me?”

Law glanced at him. “Were you not listening to me, Sunshine? We’re going home.”

They walked him over until a sleek black car came into view and Luffy’s mind went into overdrive.

_ “Okay Luffy, whatever you do, don’t get into another person’s car that you don’t know, okay?” Ace warned him. _

_ “Yeah, I got you!” Luffy gave his brother a smile. _

_ Ace ruffled his hair. “If someone grabs you, then you have to do whatever it takes to get out of there. Don’t let yourself get kidnapped.” _

_ Luffy nodded his head. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get out of there, I promise!” _

Luffy’s heart was racing in his chest as he thought about what to do. He had to get himself out of there as soon as possible. He was not going to let himself be kidnapped like this. Luffy bent backwards as fast as he could and startled the woman who was holding him so much that she let go as they both fell to the ground. He quickly rolled off of her as the burly man tried to grab him. He scurried back onto the hood of the car and jumped as he was escaping. Luffy bolted forward and stepped on the man’s head as he ran down the alleyway.

“What the fuck are you doing just standing there?! Go get him!” He could hear the anger in Law’s voice as it boomed through the small space. 

Luffy’s heart was going a million miles an hour in his chest as his adrenaline shot up. The raven haired boy pushed himself to run faster as he heard multiple footsteps behind him. Luffy made quick turns and went over fences to try to get away from his pursuers. Wide eyed and frantic, Luffy finally made it out onto a busy street and tried to blend in with the crowd.

Luffy took off his straw hat and slipped his hoodie off, tying it around his waist. He could hear his pursuers stopping and talking to each other. It looks like they didn’t notice him. Now if he could just get back to Nami’s place then he would be okay.

He heard them all split up and he continued walking, pretending that he was looking at something on his phone. He sped up his pace a little bit in his anxiety and made his way back towards Nami’s house. Luffy couldn’t hear any of them anymore so he broke out into a run. He needed to get to a safe place as soon as possible. He slipped his straw hat back on and finally reached Nami’s front doorstep.

Luffy saw a note on the doorstep and in big, bold letters that were written in gold was the word Sunshine. His breath hitched as he leaned down and picked it up. He flipped it over and read what was written on it. ‘You really like forcing my hand, don’t you Sunshine?’ This was enough to make Luffy’s skin crawl and his gut pool with anxiety.

If he went inside now he was basically bringing Law to Nami’s doorstep. He didn’t want to put them in danger. His mind was racing on what to do. Luffy made up his mind. There was only one place he could go without worrying about whether or not he was endangering them. He could only rely on Zoro for now.

Luffy turned around and started sprinting towards Zoro’s place. He could call Nami later and tell her that he wouldn’t be staying with her anymore for the time being. Zoro was strong and he could take care of himself, but Nami and Nojiko? Not so much. 

He made his way down the street and went through everything that had happened so far. If Law didn’t want him to join his gang then what did he want from him? There was nothing that he did that would instigate any of this! Just what the hell was going on? Luffy was so confused.

After a few blocks he landed on Zoro’s doorstep. He knocked on the door and waited about a minute before it opened, revealing Sanji. Luffy had almost forgotten that Zoro and Sanji lived together, but it wasn’t like Sanji couldn’t take care of himself as well. He could even hold his own against Zoro and that was saying something.

“Oh, Luffy! What are you doing here?” Sanji had a cigarette between his lips as he leaned against the doorframe.

“Hey Sanji! I was wondering if I could stay here for a bit with you guys? If that’s okay.” Luffy glanced behind him to make sure there was no one there.

“Of course that’s okay, you know we love having you over. Feel free to stay as long as you want.” Sanji moved out of the way and let Luffy inside. Zoro was sitting on the couch with a beer in hand as he was watching TV.

He glanced up from the screen when he noticed Luffy in his peripheral vision. “Oi, Luffy! What’s up?”

Luffy crashed on the couch next to him and smiled. “Hey, Zoro, I’m gonna be staying with you and Sanji for a bit.”

Zoro took a look at him and frowned. “Okay no, what’s wrong? You look like shit, what happened? Is someone messing with you? I’ll slice them in two.”

Luffy sighed. “Yeah, someone’s messing with me, but it’s fine. I can handle it. I just need to stay here for the night cause I don’t wanna be alone.”

“Hm, if you say so, Lu. Just know that I’ve got your back, okay?” Zoro gave him a grin.

“Yeah, I know. I swear I can handle it though.” Luffy’s eyes drifted towards the TV and what Zoro was watching.

* * *

  
  


Luffy had just finished his second plate of Sanji’s pot roast with mashed potatoes on the side. He sighed in contentment. Zoro picked up all the plates and took them to the sink to wash them. Sanji had gone to the couch and was playing on his phone.

Luffy’s text notification went off, startling him, and he glanced down at his phone. It was from an unknown number. His skin immediately began to crawl and he took a deep breath. Somehow he knew it was Law. Luffy frowned, the universe definitely hated him. Why wouldn’t it be Law?

He opened the text and read what it said, ‘So I see I have yet to meet more of your friends. Zoro and Sanji right?’ Luffy felt panic overtake his entire system. What the fuck? What the fuck was that? How did he know their names? Luffy quickly texted back a response, ‘Leave me alone, asshole.’ He shut his phone off and left it on the table. He didn’t want to deal with whatever response that Law had for him.

Sanji glanced up from his phone and noticed Luffy’s stricken expression. “Hey Lu? Are you okay? I think you should go to bed if you’re not feeling well.”

Luffy glanced over at Sanji and nodded. “Um, yeah. I’ll go get some sleep now I guess.”

Sanji got up and ruffled Luffy’s hair as he made his way towards the guest bedroom. “Good night. I hope you feel better in the morning.”

Zoro looked up from where he was washing the dishes. “Oi, Luffy, you’re going to bed? See you in the morning then.”

Luffy nodded at Zoro and continued on his way to the guest bedroom. Once he was inside he closed the door behind him and collapsed onto the bed. He was so tired of dealing with everything, especially Law. What kind of psycho was that dude? He really didn’t want to find out. Luffy settled under the sheets and hugged one of the pillows close to him. He would deal with it in the morning. Tonight he was too tired. 

Luffy yawned as he drifted off to sleep. His dreams were filled with nothing but golden eyes.

* * *

  
  
  


Luffy bounced on the balls of his feet behind the counter at Party’s. Makino had stepped out again and Luffy remembered what happened the  _ last  _ time she stepped out. 

He eyed every customer with suspicion, looking them over for any gang signs. Especially Law’s or the Donquixote signs. 

Luffy bit his lip, hesitating to go to the back and get more cups. He feared that if he took his eyes from the door, he’d look back and find that psychopath waiting for him. 

However, he had to do his job, so Luffy quickly ran back to grab more cups. In the five seconds it took to get to the back, Luffy heard the bell ring. 

“Fuck,” Luffy whispered. He didn’t want to go out there. What if it was another one of Law’s gang come to threaten him? Or worse, it was Law himself coming to kidnap him in the daylight! 

Luffy had to steel himself against his panic. He wasn’t some weak willed cry baby. He was a strong fighter that faced his problems head on and he wouldn’t hide in the back like a coward!

Luffy made his way out, ready for anything, but instead of going on the defensive, Luffy gave a happy gasp. 

“Bepo!” Luffy beamed, bounding over to the shy doctor. Bepo worked at the hospital Ace was at. When Luffy used to stay and eat lunch there, Bepo would keep him company. 

The two had become very good friends, even with how timid Bepo was. 

“You should have texted me! I would have planned my break so we could sit down together!” Luffy was basically jumping with joy. He hadn’t had time to visit Bepo in a while. 

“I’m sorry.” Bepo immediately looked down and twitched in discomfort. 

Luffy laughed. “It’s okay, what’s up?”

“Just stepping out for a coffee. My brother was going to come but he’s apparently too busy with business,” Bepo told him, then ordered himself an iced caramel drink. 

“I can’t believe I haven’t met your brother yet,” Luffy laughed as he made the drink. “Everything you’ve told me lets me know that he’s brilliant. He owns the hospital, right?” 

“And several others. He’s always been interested in medicine.” Bepo nodded along. “The only reason he didn’t come to medical school with me is because my uncle wants him to inherit his business.” 

“Oh,” Luffy whispered. He knew a little about that. When Gramps was alive he’d always been trying to get Luffy to join the police force. It really hadn’t been something Luffy was interested in though. “Well, hopefully he’s happy?”

“Seems like it. Lately he’s got this crush that he’s refusing to admit is a crush. But I know him pretty well, and he’s always been attracted to big sunny smiles, I know he’s smitten.” Bepo was smiling slightly, his thick stubble making him look like a happy bear. 

“New love is always good!” Luffy nodded a long. He wasn’t all that interested but he was glad his friend was happy. 

“I just hope he’s following my advice, he can come off weird when flirting at times.” 

“I think everyone does,” Luffy laughed. Bepo soon left and Luffy continued on with his day. 

* * *

  
  
  


Luffy waved goodbye to Makino for the day and began to move towards Zoro and Sanji’s place. He was only a few minutes into his walk when his phone began to buzz in his pocket. 

The day had been so calm that Luffy didn’t even think when answering it. 

“Mr. Monkey?” A woman’s nervous voice greeted him the moment he answered. She sounded almost frantic. 

“Yes? That’s me.”

“I work for Goa Hospital, your brother’s condition has worsened. You need to get down here right away,” she spoke quickly, her voice straining. 

“I’ll be right there!” Luffy yelled into the phone and shoved it into his pocket. He broke out into a run for Nami’s place. He’d parked his moped there and hadn’t gotten a chance to bring it to Zoro’s yet. 

He pulled the keys from his pocket and shoved them into the slot the moment he was near. Luffy jumped on, kicking the kickstart so hard it actually started on the first try. 

He was speeding off so fast that at times it felt like he was flying. Luffy didn’t even put on his helmet and in the back of his mind he knew if he crashed then he’d die. 

The moment the hospital was in view Luffy skidded to a halt and didn’t even take the keys. He just ran. 

He bolted past the receptionist, didn’t wave to anyone, just a blur through the halls. 

The door slammed opened from the force of his hand as he burst in. 

“ACE!” Luffy yelled. 

Luffy looked around the room and his stomach dropped when he saw that Law was sitting right next to Ace’s bedside.

“TORAO?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” Luffy was in a frenzy and Law was uncomfortably close to all the plugs that kept Ace alive.

He started backing up almost instinctively when the door slammed shut behind him. Luffy looked back and saw that it was the same burly man from earlier. He realized he was trapped in the room with Law.

Law clicked his tongue. “Now now, Sunshine, we wouldn’t want you running off again now, would we? That’s the third time you’ve run away and it’s really running my patience quite thin.”

Luffy glared at him and pressed his back to the wall. “Who the fuck do you think you are, doing this to me?”

Law gave him a glare and Luffy felt an indescribable fear take over his body. “Would you stop back talking me for one second? Is that so much to ask? Listen here, Sunshine, I’m the one who owns you. Do you understand?  _ You belong to me _ . Now listen to me right now, because this is your  _ last _ chance. If you want your brother to continue living, then we’re going to take a walk, go outside, and you’re  _ going _ to get in the car.”

Luffy’s eyes watered slightly, his chest restricting. The words from the man had been snarled. He was left with very few options but no one ever said Luffy knew when to give up. 

“That’s insane! You can’t do anything to Ace! I’ll call security. I-I’ll call the cops.” Luffy was hanging onto the authority in his voice and was shaking with every word he said.

Law laughed and it was dark and malicious. He gave Luffy a grin that sent shivers down his spine. “I believe that I have the right to kick  _ anyone _ out of  _ my _ hospital.”

Luffy felt all the blood drain from his face in realization. “You-You own this hospital?”

Law rested his head on his hand as he nodded, looking almost apologetic but Luffy could see the mockery in his eyes. 

Luffy quickly went through all of his options. He had to keep Ace safe no matter what. Ace was his top priority. It seemed like he couldn’t do anything to help himself and he almost wanted to cry. Luffy was at this psycho’s mercy. 

Luffy curled his hands into fists, his shoulders shaking before he let his shoulders drop. Luffy pulled his arms around himself, barely breathing from the fear trying to strangle him. 

“Fine, I’ll go with you. Jus-Just don’t hurt my brother, please…” Luffy hung his head low and all but whispered the words out.

Law smirked and stood up from his chair. He walked over to Luffy and tilted his head up with a tattooed finger. “I knew you’d see reason, Sunshine.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of Luffy’s head. It was much too gentle for someone like him. Luffy flinched at the contact. 

Law slipped a hand around Luffy’s waist as he nodded at Jean Bart to open the door. They made their way down the halls. Luffy could hear his heart racing in his ears as he was led through them. The edges of his vision were blurred with tears that he refused to let fall, and all that kept him moving was Law’s hand posessively on his back. 

As they left the hospital Luffy saw the same sleek car from before and the door was opened for him. For a single moment the act of getting in was daunting, like his legs were trying to defy him and run away themselves. He gulped when Law’s fingers dug into his waist. Luffy didn’t have any choice. He slipped in, followed closely by Law who sat on the other side of him. 

Luffy got one last glance at the freedom just out of his reach before the door slammed shut. Luffy knew he was condemned.


	5. Trapping Sunshine

Luffy sat on one of the pristine leather chairs and shifted uncomfortably. He was currently inside Law’s mansion. Law was sitting across from him talking over the phone to what Luffy assumed to be his underlings. He didn’t really pay the conversation any mind. It wasn’t any of his business.

Once Law got off the phone, his piercing stare met Luffy and he almost flinched back at the intensity.

“Alright, I’m going to tell you exactly what I want from you and you’re going to listen, got it?”

Luffy nodded his head and Law growled. “I need a verbal answer, Sunshine.”

“Yes, I understand…” Luffy said bitterly.

“Good, first things first. I want you to live here so you can be at my side at all times. Then all I want is for you to greet me with a smile whenever you see me. That is all,” Law said nonchalantly.

Luffy was bewildered. “Excuse me, what? I can’t live here, I have my own house to take care of....” Luffy said before focusing on the weirdest part of what he’d said. “....Is that really all you want from me? Do you  _ just _ want me to greet you with a smile and be at your side?”

Law nodded his head. “Well, yes, what else would I want from you?”

Luffy opened his mouth to respond but then closed it. He flushed brightly, deciding quickly that if this guy didn’t want him for what Luffy had feared, then he shouldn’t give him ideas. Luffy squirmed under his icy look when he said nothing. He knew he had to answer something. “I just thought this would be about my strength.... gang wise...?” 

Law scoffed. “Your strength is impressive. I'll give you that, but it’s your smile I want.” 

Luffy didn’t really know how to respond to that. The situation at least felt a bit less threatening but Luffy couldn’t fathom such a strange demand. He’d been ready for this man to force himself on him. Luffy had been preparing himself for the worst possible things Law could want from him. 

Never in a million years did Luffy ever think he’d get kidnapped because a gang lord wanted his smile. 

Luffy met his eyes and just earnestly asked, “Why?”

Law seemed to relax slightly, making Luffy realize how tense the other man had been. He looked Luffy over like he was considering him, deciding if he was worthy of an answer. His hand reached up and played with the dog tags at his neck while he thought. 

“The reason is unimportant,” Law spoke, apparently deciding him unworthy. “All you need to understand is you no longer have to live in that shack, work like a dog, or fight in those tournaments. If you behave your life will be good, you’ll have absolute freedom to roam under the condition of your return. All this and you only have to give me that pretty sunshine smile.” 

Luffy clenched his fists, glaring at the table. Sure his life wasn’t  _ perfect _ but this whole thing was leaving a nasty taste in his mouth. It all sounded dangerously close to prostitution. 

“I  _ like _ my house, I  _ like  _ my job, and I  _ like  _ fighting!” Luffy began with a whisper but near the end his voice rose with his passion. Sure, the world had knocked him down a few times and shit was bad at the moment, but that didn’t mean he was going to sell himself to the first person to come along! It also didn’t mean that he hated his life! Luffy did like his house, it was where he’d met Ace for the first time. It was where they’d grown up together!

Luffy also loved being able to work with Makino. She was his first foster mother after all and Luffy liked being able to work while spending time with her. Lastly, he liked to fight! It was a minor detail that lately it had become a responsibility rather than a pastime but Luffy still couldn’t imagine life without it. 

Law rolled his eyes. “Don’t call that place of yours a house, it is by definition a shack. Non negotiable, you will not be living there anymore.” Law sat forward, putting his forearms on his knees. “As for your job, I can think about  _ maybe _ allowing you to keep it.” 

Luffy ground his teeth at the word  _ ‘allowing.’  _ It took everything in him not to leap over the coffee table and attack. Luffy began to shake, digging his nails into his knees just to keep himself grounded. 

“I can see you’re overwhelmed, we will talk more later. For now I’ll show you to your new room.” Law stood up and motioned for Luffy to follow him.

Luffy took a deep breath to calm himself of his rage and started following Law as he walked. They went down a few hallways and passed by many doors. The mansion felt cold to Luffy, like a hotel everything was perfectly in its place. The walls were bare and the tile flooring a milky grey that reminded him of the hospital. Luffy couldn’t comprehend what a person could need so many rooms for, especially when the place was already so empty. He highly doubted that Law used all of them.

They stopped before two large double doors that looked to be made out of mahogany and were carved ornately. 

“This right here is my room. Just knock if you ever need me. Otherwise I’ll be in my office as we were earlier.” Law gestured towards the doors as he spoke.

He turned to a set of doors to the right of his room and looked at Luffy. “This will be your room. It’s the closest one to mine. You’ll find anything you need in your room. It also has a bathroom connected to it.”

Law checked his watch briefly and sighed. “I need to get back to work, but don’t hesitate to come to me if you need anything, Sunshine. If I’m not available just ask anyone around here and they’ll tend to you.”

Luffy nodded his head. His anger was still simmering beneath the surface of his skin. He lifted a hand to open the doors when Law started speaking again.

“Give me a smile before I leave, Sunshine.”

Luffy had to take a couple of deep breaths. He had to remind himself that he had no control over the current situation and that his actions had consequences. He mustered up all of the happiest thoughts that he could and turned to give Law his brightest smile, although it was somewhat strained.

Apparently it was good enough for Law. Law stepped forward and took Luffy’s face into his tattooed hands. Tilting Luffy’s head downwards, he placed a gentle kiss to his forehead and let go. He stroked Luffy’s hair and turned to leave without another word.

Luffy blinked as he watched Law walk away. What the fuck was that? Luffy brought his hands to his forehead and tilted his head in confusion. His anger had completely dissipated at this point and he was left only with bewilderment.

Thinking about it made his brain hurt so he decided that he wouldn't. Luffy turned back around and opened the door, quickly slipping through. He closed it behind him and looked around the extravagant room. 

The room seemed to be nautical themed. Luffy gasped at how cool it was. The bed frame looked like it was a boat with the mattress in the middle having starfish and anchor printed sheets. The wallpaper was ocean waves with the sun high in the sky. He could even see a few seagulls here and there on the walls. On one of the walls, there was a pirate ship with what looked like a ram’s head as the figurehead. On the opposite wall was a pirate ship that was much bigger and had a lion as the figurehead. 

Luffy sat on the bed and looked around the room some more. There was a desk with a laptop and other little knick knacks on it that were sea themed in the corner of the room. On the middle wall facing the bed was a flat screen TV that had every single console that Luffy had seen in the stores. Next to the TV was a small shelf that contained games and movies. There were big windows on the walls that were framed by sheer white drapery.

He fell back onto the bed with a soft ‘oomph’ and looked up at the ceiling to find that it was covered in wispy clouds that looked all too real. Through his peripheral vision he saw that there was a small mast with a sail and a little pirate flag on top. The room filled him with amazement and wonder. Luffy never truly let go of his childhood dream of being a pirate so being in the space seemed like a dream.

Getting up from the bed he decided to check the bathroom. Luffy let out a gasp as he took it all in. The wallpaper of the bathroom was that of a sunset ocean. The ceiling was the same wispy clouds. He would’ve bet that this bathroom was the same size of his room back home. The tile looked like the tide was coming in on a beach. He wasn’t sure how they managed to do that but it was still pretty cool.. Luffy glanced around the bathroom and spotted a soaking tub that had many jets in it. Next to the tub was a ceiling shower where the water rained from above.

There were shelves that had different shells and other nautical knick knacks on them. Even the towels had anchors stitched onto them in the corner. The shower was lined with what looked to be expensive shampoos, conditioners, and soaps. There was also a double sink that had two round, rope lined mirrors hanging in front of it with different hand soaps and other things.

Everything perfectly tailored to fit his interests and make him happy. The excitement quickly dissipated as the burning frustration came back full force. 

Luffy didn’t  _ want _ to stay here! Sure, this room was cool but it all made him feel distinctly like a pet. Walking over to the door along the window, Luffy opened it to step out onto a small balcony. Luffy looked over the horizon and contemplated how totally screwed he was. 

Probably one of the most powerful men in the city, maybe even the country, was obsessed with him. He had threatened Luffy’s friends, his brother, and made it clear that if he didn’t comply bad things would happen. 

It was later in the day now and Luffy must have watched the open sky for a good twenty minutes before he turned around, leaving the door open, and collapsed onto the bed. 

Luffy hadn't realized how exhausted he was until his head hit a pillow and he was already half asleep. 

_ I miss Ace,  _ Luffy thought to himself as he fell into a dreamless sleep. 

* * *

Luffy woke up with the same sensation he did everyday. He was hungry. It took him a moment to realize that for once his hunger was his only problem. He was warm and not sore for once. 

It took even longer to remember that he was in the ridiculously soft bed of his new  _ room. _ The room his kidnapper had given him. Luffy didn’t know how to feel about it all. On one hand, he’d slept great but on the other, Law creeped him out and he wasn’t here willfully. 

Luffy decided that he just couldn’t think about it. He’d drive himself crazy trying to untangle his feelings about this mess. 

Luffy sat up, the soft blankets looping around his waist. For a moment Luffy stared at them, an odd sensation running up his spine until it finally dawned on him. He hadn’t put the blankets around himself....

The now closed balcony doors were also a blatant sign that someone had come into the room while he slept. The thought made him shudder. 

His stomach growled and he was once again reminded of his insatiable hunger. First though, he glanced at the shower and grinned to himself. He hadn’t had a proper shower in a long while. Luffy was here anyway, so why not indulge?

He got up from the bed and made his way towards the bathroom. Slipping off his hoodie and jeans, he quickly got into the shower and started thinking. How the hell do you turn this thing on? He fiddled with the shower for a bit before finally figuring out how to turn it on. Cold water rained down from above him and he yelped in surprise.

Luffy turned the handle to hot and his muscles relaxed as soon as the hot water hit him. He stood there under the shower for what felt like forever, just enjoying the warm water. Finally he grabbed the shampoo which was named Ocean Breeze and opened it, taking a sniff of it. It really did smell like the ocean and Luffy liked the scent quite a lot.

He poured a small amount onto his hand and began massaging it into his scalp. Humming a little tune to himself, he then rinsed the shampoo out and grabbed the conditioner. It was the same scent as the shampoo. Luffy coated his hands in the conditioner and ran his hands through his hair to spread it evenly. It was a nice change from the river he usually bathed in. He was actually enjoying himself for once. While he was letting the conditioner soak in he grabbed a bar of soap which smelled the same as all the other things. He appreciated the smell. Luffy loved all things that had to do with the ocean.

Once he was finished soaping himself down, he washed it off as well as the conditioner. He stayed under the water for a bit longer, just enjoying the temperature before he turned it off. Luffy stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He grabbed another towel and began rubbing it into his wet hair. 

After he was done he shook his head vigorously, shaking off excess drops of water. His hair was still damp and it was incredibly messy from towel drying, but that’s just what he did everyday. He walked out of the bathroom and towards the closet which he hadn’t had the time to explore.

Luffy opened the door to the closet and his eyes widened considerably. The closet was huge and it was filled with all of the things that Luffy liked. There were many hoodies and different pairs of jeans as well as a wide array of shirts. He looked a bit closer and realized that all of the items were brand named. He almost choked on his spit imagining how much this whole wardrobe must have cost. It was probably worth more than what Luffy had made in his entire life.

He walked in and looked through all the drawers for a pair of boxers. He eventually found the drawer that held them. Luffy picked out a pair and slipped them on, going to the jeans next. They felt nice against his skin and Luffy berated himself a bit for enjoying getting new clothes. He grabbed the first ones he could get his hands on which happened to be loose fit ripped jeans with a chain attached to one of the belt loops.

Next he went over to the shirts and hoodies. Luffy picked a random striped red and white shirt before he slipped on a mock two piece hoodie and vest. He hadn’t gotten new clothes in a long time. He hummed as he thought back to the last time he had bought himself clothes. He actually couldn’t really recall all that well.

Luffy ran his hands through his hair once again before ruffling it to get some extra water out. He was surprised to find that his hair was much softer than before and he assumed that it was because of the fancy products from his shower.

His stomach growled again and he groaned. Now it was time for food. Luffy slipped on some socks and made his way out of the door. Luffy hesitantly looked around the empty hallways, poking his head around corners and getting hopelessly lost. 

He’d been shown around just yesterday but this place was huge! How was he supposed to navigate it all by himself?

Luffy began to gain more confidence as he wandered the halls, beginning to quicken his pace as his stomach continued to growl. 

Finally he began to hear the sound of other people, and even though Luffy didn’t want to interact with any of these people, he’d do pretty much anything for a meal. 

Luffy entered a large room. It almost seemed like some kind of common room like the ones at Nami’s college. A projector was set up on the ceiling, currently showing a video game on the white painted wall. A large circular couch was in the middle of the room. Two men that Luffy recognized sat on it as they shouted at each other, playing their game. 

He didn’t have a name to place either man. One was the one who’d come to his job and the other one he’d seen when he’d been led into Law’s office the day before. 

“Oí! Look who’s up and about!” the one that had threatened him called, getting the attention of the other man. Both put down their remotes, their game forgotten now. Luffy glared at them both, especially the one that had come to his job. 

“Your name's Luffy, right?” the redhead in a weird orca themed hat asked. 

“Yeah,” Luffy mumbled, watching them closely for any sudden moves. 

“You don’t have to be so suspicious!” the same man laughed. “My name's Shachi, this guy's Penguin.” He pointed a thumb at his friend. 

Luffy frowned at them both, especially Penguin. He’d made him feel really unsafe while at work and he wasn’t just going to forgive him for that! 

“Are you still upset about the whole ‘threatening you at work’ thing?” Penguin grinned like it had been no big thing. “That was just following orders! You’re here now, so let’s all get along!” 

Luffy scowled at him and opened his mouth to berate him only for his stomach to speak first. His midsection roared like a raging monster and all three stopped at the sound. 

Luffy pinched his lips and shuffled his feet. “Give me food and I’ll consider forgiving you.”

The two laughed in a light hearted way, moving forward to show him the way to the kitchen. 

* * *

“MEAT!” Luffy cried happily, a huge grin taking shape on his face as he stuffed himself with all the savory goodness. Food made everything better! 

“You eat like a wild child,” Shachi said, staring in complete disgusted awe. Luffy stuffed handfuls of bacon down his throat, gulping down orange juice and large cuts of waffle all at the same time. He almost choked multiple times!

“I was raised in a forest!” Luffy preened under what he’d consider a complement. “In my house, if you didn’t eat quickly then you didn’t eat!” Luffy gave a gleeful laugh with his mouth still full. 

Penguin nodded his head with a confused look on his face. “Right, yeah.”

He pulled Shachi in and watched as Luffy continued eating. “Excuse me, but what does Law see in this kid?” he whispered.

Shachi had yet to take his eyes off of Luffy, the same disgusted yet awed look on his face. “Honestly, he’s a monster,” Shachi whispered back.

The two of them watched as Luffy proceeded to eat everything he got his hands on. They could occasionally hear him mumble things like “Take that!” or “This is what you get for locking me up,” and even “Stupid Torao…” 

In a little over an hour Luffy had completely decimated the kitchen. Everything that was edible and didn’t have to be prepared was gone and eaten. Shachi and Penguin stood there with bewildered looks on their faces. There was no way this was real life, right? There was no way that one person that small could eat so much. It was impossible, or at least that’s what they had thought.

Luffy sat swinging his feet on one of the bar stools at the breakfast nook and looked around for anything that he had missed. Realizing he had pretty much eaten everything, he slumped in his seat with a pout.

“Do you guys have a second kitchen or something? I wanna eat more!” Luffy whined.

Shachi could swear he almost collapsed right then and there. “MORE?! You wanna eat MORE?! How can you even think about eating more when you ate everything already?!”

Luffy gasped in shock and covered his heart with his hand. “Excuse me! Of course I want to eat more! How can anyone stop eating ever?”

Penguin hung his head low for a moment before sighing and looking up at Luffy. “We don’t have a second kitchen. Why would we have a second kitchen? Just stop eating!”

“Well it’s such a big house, you never know. Do you guys really not have any more food?” Luffy huffed.

“None that we don’t have to prepare. You’re a monster! I don’t know how you’re so tiny.” Shachi looked Luffy over and felt his confusion growing. The kid was absolutely miniscule!

Luffy was apparently amused by this and gave a wide smile with a laugh. “Shishishishi.”

There was scuffling of slippers against the tile floor and Penguin and Shachi turned to see who the newcomer was. They were met with Law as he usually was in the morning. He had a bedhead and was shirtless. There was only a pair of black sweatpants that rested low on his hips to keep him decent.

Law stood there mesmerized by Luffy’s smile. He wanted to protect his sunshine from the world. Luffy noticed that Shachi and Penguin had stopped talking so he looked over to where they were looking and he felt his mood do a roller coaster. On one hand his mood sank seeing Law, on the other hand his mood rose seeing all of Law’s cool tattoos. 

He remembered what Law had told him and gave him the best grin he could before looking away, kicking his feet uncomfortably.

Law walked over to Luffy and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Good morning, Sunshine.”

Luffy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but decided not to think about it or else his head would hurt again. “Good morning…”

Law made his way over to the fridge and opened it. “Where the fuck is all the food?”

Luffy immediately perked up. “I ate it all!” He felt his pride swell when Law turned around with a bewildered look on his face.

Law looked around and saw that the pantry was open and almost empty as well. He looked at Luffy again and furrowed his brows. “You ate all of it? How? Is that the normal amount you eat? How are you so small?”

“My gramps said my blood is too hot. I have to eat more because my metabolism works faster than most,” Luffy said with a shrug, licking a bit of bacon grease from his fingers. “I used to be on a special diet for it cause I got too small during puberty.” 

Law considered that for a moment, running through his mental list of medical problems before nodding. That checked out. He’d have to make sure there was always enough food for Luffy. He also now wanted to take Luffy in for a physical, make sure he was a correct weight for his height and all that. 

“I guess I’ll have to send someone food shopping,” Law finally sighed. He hadn’t expected Luffy to be an actual blackhole and so hadn’t planned for it. He’d been meticulous with his research into Luffy, making sure he had every detail he could get in order to plan accordingly. Tailor every detail of his introduction to the house so he’d be happy and smile for Law. He wasn’t used to speed bumps in his perfectly laid out plans and was slightly annoyed with himself for missing this detail. 

“Oh good, more food. I haven’t eaten like this in forever,” Luffy sighed with a content look. His eyes closed and his face softened. Luffy grinned, not widely but a gentle smile as he rested his head in his hands. 

Law was struck by how angelic he looked, the morning light filtering in through the windows hitting him just right to make him glow. Even if he was surrounded by what looked like a war zone of demolished food items, to Law he looked ethereal. 

Penguin cleared his throat, breaking Law out of the trance he’d been pulled into. With a click of his tongue Law pulled Luffy’s shattered phone from his pocket and presented it to him. 

Luffy looked at it, almost confused for a moment before he gasped and swiped it up. “Why do you have my phone?!”

“Calm down, I only added my number and a few others to it. If you should need  _ anything _ , don’t hesitate to call. I have to get to work now,” Law quickly said, immediately moving to head back to his room to get ready. He’d have to pick up something to eat on the way now. 

Luffy frowned down at his phone, opening it to see what Law had added. The moment he opened the phone one of his alarms went off. 

“I’m late!” Luffy squawked, jumping up and pacing. He hadn’t seen the way they’d taken to this mansion but it felt like it was far from Party’s. Luffy couldn't just not go to work! Makino would be so worried. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Law demanded, having paused when Luffy’s phone rang. 

Luffy scowled at him. “Work? Duh?” 

Law scowled back. “No, I can’t trust you to come home yet.” Law put his foot down. If Luffy wanted a job he’d have to earn it, but for now he just wasn’t used to his new life yet to be trusted. 

“Wait, please! I love that job!” Luffy ran around him to block his path. He  _ knew _ that Law had all the power here but working at Party’s had been one of the few bright points of his life in the last two years. It gave him a sense of fulfillment because the work hadn’t been easy for him to learn. His friends regularly came in for coffee and he got to see them, he had something fun and easy to fill his day with, and it was alway nice to meet new people. Plus he didn’t want to lose all the quality time he got with Makino. 

“I said no, Sunshine.” Law moved to step around him. 

“But what the hell am I supposed to do all day if I can’t go to work?!” Luffy yelled. 

“I put plenty of games in your room and the house is always full. Find someone or something to entertain yourself,” Law nonchalantly said as he waved him away. 

“You want me to be happy, don’t you?!” Luffy stomped his foot. That seemed to grab Law’s attention, he looked back at Luffy and arched a brow, silently telling him to continue. “Working at Party’s makes me happy. I like the work and I get to be around the woman that raised me until I was seven! Please don’t take it away from me!  _ Please!” _

Law seemed to consider Luffy for a moment before he sighed. “Fine, but you’re getting a chaperone, and if you even try to run away, you can kiss everything goodbye. And I mean  _ everything,”  _ Law growled.

Luffy almost burst into tears of happiness. Without thinking he jumped towards Law and wrapped his arms around him. He buried his face in his chest and Law looked down surprised at Luffy. Not giving him any time to even think about hugging back, Luffy pulled away with a mortified expression on his face.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Luffy quickly apologized.

Law ran a hand through Luffy’s now dry hair as if he was petting him. “It’s okay, Sunshine. It was… nice.”

Luffy didn’t look at Law. “Well, uh, I have to go to work now…”

Law sighed. “Right. Penguin, you’re going to drop Luffy off. Shachi, I expect you to pick him up when he’s done.

Shachi and Penguin both nodded and Law walked back towards his bedroom to get changed for the day. Luffy gave them both a wide smile.

“Let’s go!”

* * *

Luffy waved goodbye to Penguin as he walked inside Party’s cafe. He immediately saw Nami, Sanji, and Zoro at the front counter talking with Makino. He made his way over to them and stopped behind them.

“Guys? What’s going on?”

All three of them turned around at the speed of light and Nami almost tackled him in a hug.

“Oh my God! Luffy, you’re okay!” Nami let out a breath of relief.

“You fucking idiot, you never called us back!” Zoro growled.

Sanji ran a hand through his hair. “Do you know how worried we all were?”

“You can’t just have a breakdown at my house, tell Zoro and Sanji that you’re in trouble with someone, and then disappear like that!” Nami exclaimed.

“We even got a call that the hospital had your moped and they found it running!” Sanji added worriedly.

Zoro clicked his tongue. “We were all a nervous wreck, Lu, what happened?”

“I’m sorry, guys. Some things happened with Ace and I got really worried and I had a breakdown. My friend talked me through it and I’m gonna be staying with him for a while, so there’s no need to worry about me.” Luffy gave them all his best grin. Makino seemed to be satisfied with that and turned to give the friends some privacy. She had the morning baking to do in the kitchen anyway. 

Nami shook him by his shoulders. “Are you sure you’re okay? You can come to us if you ever need anything at all!”

Luffy laughed. “Of course I’m sure. Thanks for worrying about me guys.”

The jingle from the bell above the door was heard and Luffy looked over to see Penguin enter the cafe.

“Peng, what are you doing? Aren’t you going back?” Luffy tilted his head in confusion.

“I have to stay here with you, I was just packing the car. But Shachi and I are gonna switch off and take shifts, don’t worry,” Penguin responded off handedly and moved to sit at one of the empty tables.

Luffy huffed in annoyance but knew this was the best he could get at the moment.

Sanji looked at him, concerned. “Uh, Luffy? Who is that and why does he have to stay here with you?”

Luffy wracked his brain for excuses. “Oh, uh, well you know how um, I told you guys that someone is after me? Well he’s here for protection… purposes…?”

They all seemed to believe him and didn’t ask follow up questions about it.

Suddenly he was bonked over the head with Nami’s fist. His hands shot up to cradle his abused brain. “Ow, fuck! Nami, what was that for?”

“That was for worrying us, you fucking himbo!” She had the angriest look on her face and Luffy cowered.

“I already said I was sorry!” he whined.

“Well, It’s not enough! You’d crawl into a kidnapper van for a short rib and my heart can’t take it!” Nami snarled. Luffy pouted at her, offended at the very accusation. He wasn’t  _ that _ dumb, probably. 

Zoro sighed. “Just don’t do anything like that to worry us again.”

Luffy nodded. “I pinky swear,” he said with a determined face.

Seemingly satisfied Nami crossed her hands over her chest. “Okay, I guess we’re done here. Now let’s go so Luffy can start working.”

Sanji nodded his head happily. “Of course, my lovely Nami!”

Zoro scoffed and grabbed Sanji’s hand as they all walked out of the door. They gave one last wave to Luffy who gave one of his own back before they left. 

Luffy sighed and looked over at Penguin.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, I guess.”


	6. Fanart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heres luffy in his mask from the beginning!

isnt he cute?


	7. Domesticating Sunshine

Luffy acted the perfect obedient captive for hours into his shift, watching as Penguin soon grew bored of keeping tabs on him and began to distract himself. Luffy knew he had to get a plan together to get the hell out of this situation. First things first, he needed to get Ace into a different hospital! 

Luffy had no doubt Law had done something in order to monitor his phone, so calling anyone about getting Ace somewhere new was a no go. 

His only hope was Makino, but that meant explaining this entire ridiculous situation to her. She was going to tear him a new one when she found out. 

As stealthy as possible Luffy wrote it all out on a napkin for her, making sure to only do it when Penguin wasn’t looking. 

He explained that he was being watched, that he’d actually been kidnapped, and that she needed to get instructions to Robin to find a hospital that wasn’t owned by Trafalgar Law. It was a top priority for him to start the paperwork to have him moved immediately. He stressed that this needed to be as covert as possible or he knew Law would step in to stop it. 

Luffy just hoped that if he played along for now Law would let things like keeping his brother hostage slip.   
  


Luffy wasn’t afraid for himself, he knew he could survive anything, but he was afraid for everyone around him. Especially Ace, he couldn’t defend himself at all right now!

As naturally as someone as earnest as Luffy could, he moved to the back, saying something about needing more cups. 

Makino heard him and was already grabbing them for him when he walked back. Shakily Luffy shoved the napkin in her hand as he took the cups, begging her with his eyes not to comment on it. 

Luckily she got the message and balled up the napkin as she went back to making pastries. She seemed confused but Luffy was glad that she’d read the panic in his eyes. 

Luffy moved back to the counter and smiled at Penguin, sweating a bit when he gave Luffy a suspicious look. 

“Need a refill?” Luffy asked, trying to cover up how bad he was at acting and basically anything covert. 

“Sure,” he murmured, still looking at Luffy like he knew he was up to something. 

A full hour passed before Makino stuck her head out. 

“Lu, I need to run some errands. Are you good to watch the store again?” She looked so natural but Luffy could see a slight strain in her smile. 

“Uh, yeah! Of course!” 

She shot him one worried look before marching out, doing her best not to give herself away by connecting eyes with who she now knew was a gang member.

Luffy watched her leave, not wanting to be alone with Penguin, but he knew this was important. Hopefully she wouldn’t tell all his friends about this. They’d come busting in here to try and protect him, and he didn’t need protection. 

Luffy nervously waved at Penguin, feeling like the man could see right through him. Of course it was dead in the cafe too, so there was nothing to shift his focus on! 

Penguin seemed to notice his nervousness and was now watching him intently. 

“Luffy, what are y-“ he cut off when a notification pinged in his phone. Luffy breathed a sigh of relief when the man stopped staring at him in favor of checking the notification. Penguin’s eyes widened for a moment before he smirked. He glanced back up at Luffy. “Get ready.” 

Luffy didn’t know why that sounded like a threat, it just did. He fidgeted as Penguin seemed to be chuckling to himself, typing out a message on his phone. 

What should he be getting ready for? Did Law already guess his plan and was now coming down to confront him? Would he threaten to hurt more of his friends? 

Penguins phones began to ring and the man picked it up. He listened for a minute, looking like he was going to die trying to hold in his laughter before he stood and began to speak. 

“Yes, I told him not to come, but you know your uncle. No one tells him where to go!” Penguin laughed as he moved to take the call just outside the door where Luffy couldn’t hear. 

Luffy tilted his head in confusion, watching the man through the glass laugh and wave a hand around. 

Luffy at least wasn’t being scrutinized anymore, even if he had no idea what was about to happen. 

The bell chimed signalling that another customer had come into the cafe. Luffy looked up and was surprised to see a very tall man wearing a maroon pinstripe suit with what looked like a pink feathered boa around his neck. He had his blonde hair in a buzzcut and was wearing pointed sunglasses.

He walked up to the counter, leaning into Luffy’s personal space. “Oh, aren’t you cute? And you smile just like him!”

Luffy tilted his head in confusion. “I smile like who?”

The man perched against the counter, his head in his hand with his elbow propped against the table. “Doesn’t matter. The important thing here is that you are such an adorable feral kitten!”

Luffy scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. "Uh, thank you, sir?" What did this guy want from him? He was saying all sorts of weird things

The man laughed, preening at the teen in front of him. He was so small and frail looking, but to an experienced man like himself he could see the lean muscles’ power just under the surface. He had to hand it to his nephew, he picked a good little pet. “Awe, adorable. Why don’t you get me a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and caramel drizzle?”

Luffy felt a chill go down his spine at the man's laugh and smile. He could tell he was dangerous. It made him alert and on edge. "Right away," he responded without skipping a beat. Luffy was nervous to turn away from him but he did have a drink to make.

The man let his eyes wander over the lithe frame of the boy as he moved around, making his drink. He happily hummed, deeming the kid worthy of his precious Law.

Luffy finished making the drink and set it on the counter. "That'll be five dollars and sixty one cents, please."

Doflamingo made a show of licking his thumb to count out each dollar, slow and deliberate with each movement. Doflamingo’s eyes still pinning the kid where he stood. Suddenly the cafe door banged open. “Doffy, I swear to god I’m not going to wait all day! Let’s fucking go already!” a man with a prosthetic hand seethed from the door. Doflamingo pouted at the other man before looking back at the kid and laying down a twenty. “Keep the change, little kitty.”

Luffy tried to keep the disgusted look off of his face. He was entirely creeped out by this man. He let out a sigh of relief when he finally exited the cafe with his companion. Glancing down at the bill on the counter, he wasn't even sure he wanted to take the money. Luffy had no idea if there was something weird with it. Who knew with people these days. Eventually he gave in and slipped the bill into the cash register. 

He actually recognized the person that yelled at the customer earlier. Luffy knew that man to be Crocodile, leader of the Baroque Works gang. 

Luffy was freaking the fuck out. He was shaking where he stood. Had he really just met the leader of the Donquixote gang? What the fuck was going on? Doflamingo had acted as if he knew him as well. Luffy paled. Did he come to check on him because Luffy was now connected to Law? He ran a hand through his hair and noticed he was shaking still. Taking a deep breath, Luffy tried to calm down enough to think straight.

He thought it through a bit longer. It didn’t seem like Doflamingo was out for his neck so for now he could rest easy, but he didn’t want another gang leader checking up on him and breathing down his neck either. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to deal with him again anytime soon.

The bell chimed again and Luffy glanced at the door to see Penguin walk back in. He was no longer on the phone and was looking around.

Suddenly he snapped his fingers and shook his head. “Damn it! I missed him? I missed the whole interaction? What kind of bullshit is this? Does the universe hate me or something?”

Luffy sighed. Apparently Penguin was acquainted with Doflamingo as well. “Peng, if anything, the universe hates _me_. I don’t know why it would hate you.”

Penguin walked back over to sit at the table he was at before he got up. “Hey, what if it hates the both of us instead? Also just a heads up, Lu, Law is coming into the cafe to do the rest of his work here.”

Luffy’s face was immediately crestfallen. “What? Why? See?! The universe does hate me!” He buried his face into his hands and then glared at the ceiling while shaking his fist. “I’ll get you back someday, universe.”

Penguin let out a laugh. “Yeah, sure, good luck with that.”

* * *

  
  
  


Law growled as he finally reached Party’s cafe. He wanted his uncle to stay as far away from Luffy as possible. Who knew what kind of weird germs he contaminated his Sunshine with? His blood was boiling at the thought of it. He walked into the cafe and immediately noticed that Luffy and Shachi were having a rock paper scissors competition. There was a big smile on Luffy’s face and Law felt the stress from the day that had built up begin to melt away like cold frost on a warm day. 

Law walked over to them and sat across from Shachi. They both stopped what they were doing and greeted him. Luffy remembered to give him a smile and it made him happy that his Sunshine was learning. He set everything up before ordering. Law took a quick glance at the menu items and smirked at the specialty item on the board. 

“What exactly is an ‘astronaut’?” Law asked the boy. 

Luffy had a mischievous grin light up his face immediately. “It’s a drink I invented! On accident mostly, but also because I was bored. It’s three shots of espresso, steamed milk, and dripped coffee!” Luffy’s eyes glinted in challenge as he leaned down to whisper, “It’ll take you to the moon.” 

Law chuckled, finding Luffy’s proud behavior over that monstrosity cute. It also sounded like it was right up Law’s alley. 

“I’ll take that then.” 

Luffy gave him a bright grin and nodded. His impressive ability to forget how dangerous a situation he was in showing as he felt happiness in anyone ordering one of his creations. “Aye aye, sir.” He saluted him for extra measure.

Law smirked lazily as he rested his head against his hand. “Come here, Sunshine, I need to tell you something.”

Luffy furrowed his eyebrows and leaned down to Law’s level. “Huh?”

“You’re cute.” Law gave Luffy an eskimo kiss before returning to his work.

Luffy flushed and puffed his cheeks out. What was with this guy and doing cute things like that? It was way too gentle for his rough persona. He didn’t put any more thought into it and went back to the counter before making Law’s requested drink. Once he was done Luffy set it down in front of Law.

Law looked up at him for a second before returning to his work. “Thank you, Sunshine.” Law was typing away at his laptop and his brows were furrowed together in his stress.

Luffy thought of a way to get him back. He would get his revenge. “Torao?”

Law hummed in acknowledgement and turned to Luffy. “Yes, Sunshine?”

Luffy bent down to Law’s level and grabbed his face, giving him his own rough eskimo kiss. “There, how do you like it?”

Law blinked at him and slowly dissolved into a fit of chuckles. “Oh God, you’re precious.”

Luffy blushed and glared down at him when he realized his tactic hadn’t worked. He realized that Shachi was also laughing so he covered his face with his straw hat and made himself busy cleaning the already spotless counter. 

* * *

  
  


Law smiled softly at the security monitors, taking a break from working when he spotted his Sunshine exploring his new home. After Luffy’s shift had ended they had gone home together. The domestication of the act made Law unreasonably happy. Now Luffy wanted to explore and Law unfortunately had more work to do still so had moved to his office.

Luffy cautiously moved through the halls, seemingly unaware that the halls had cameras. He checked into rooms, tested out spots for a good hiding place, and even seemed to look for soft spots near windows to nap. 

He was like a curious little kitten, familiarizing himself with his new home. Luffy was absolutely adorable. He was a bubbly, bright ball of sunshine that made Law relax. After the hard time he gave Law in catching him, Luffy wasn't putting up as much of a fuss as Law had feared he would. Law was just happy that he seemed to be settling in brilliantly, spreading around that bright smile and joyous laugh. Not to mention all the cute things he did to ‘get back’ at Law, like eating all the food, or the revenge Eskimo kiss. 

Law chuckled at the memory. His eyes focused back on the screens and noticed he didn’t see Luffy anymore. He clicked through a few feeds, looking for the wandering teen. 

He found Luffy quickly, outside a room on the top floor that Law used for family meetings whenever Doffy needed him to step up as Corazon. His uncle was fine, and even very proud, of Law’s personal gang, but he was still a member of Donquixote. Occasionally he had to act as a proper member. 

Law frowned as Luffy continued to try and open the door even after finding it locked. He hadn’t thought he needed to tell Luffy that if a room was locked then he wasn’t allowed in it but apparently he did. Since Luffy looked close to breaking the door down Law got up to intercept him. 

Quickly Law made his way to the hallway where Luffy seemed to be gearing up to kick the door in. 

“Sunshine.” Luffy froze around his icy tone. He turned and found Law, standing at the end of the hall with his arms crossed and a dissatisfied look on his face. 

“Um, hi?” Luffy said, giving a nervous smile and his leg still up and ready to kick. “What’s up?” 

Law felt his lip twitch, fighting off a smile. Luffy was just too adorable, Law could barely manage to keep a straight face. 

“Why are you breaking into rooms, Sunshine?” Law asked casually. 

Luffy put his foot down, scratching the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. “Well, you said I had free reign... and I was curious. A locked door is like a surprise waiting to happen, an adventure!” 

Law couldn’t contain the soft smile that curved his lips. His Luffy was so innocent and cute, it was lucky Law was going to protect him from the harshness of the world. _Luffy was lucky Law was taking him in._

“Well, that room is not for adventures,” Law spoke soothingly, striding forward. He missed the way Luffy stepped back in panic for just a moment. Law took Luffy by the chin the second he was close enough, forcing their eyes to connect. “It’s for business, and it’s locked because my uncle doesn’t like things to be disturbed from how he likes it.” Law raised his other hand, running his fingers through Luffy's black hair. Law pet him like one would a cat. “So if a room is locked then you will leave it alone from now on, understand?” 

Luffy stared into cold golden eyes, seeing just how serious he was. Law hadn’t hurt him yet, only made threats against his family which were bad enough, but Luffy wasn’t willing to find out if he would use violence against him. 

“Oh-okay.” Luffy gave a slight nod of his head as he whispered the word. 

“That’s a good Sunshine.” Law rewarded him with a soft look and a slight ruffling of his hair. Law pulled on Luffy’s chin to lower his head and delivered a gentle kiss to his forehead. 

Confused and rattled, Luffy stepped away the moment Law let go. Law seemed to wait in silence for Luffy to do something and it took him longer than he cared to admit to remember to smile. Luffy gave Law a shaky smile and Law seemed to relax, turning and walking back the way he’d come. 

Before he disappeared, Law turned back around as if he had forgotten something. “Oh, be sure to dress in something nice for dinner. My family is coming over.” With that said he resumed walking back down the hallway.

Luffy paled at the thought of meeting Law’s family. He hoped that his second meeting with Doflamingo wouldn’t be as unnerving as the first time. Once the wave of uneasiness left him, he furrowed his brows as he thought about the kiss Law had given him. He was extremely bothered by all of the kisses that Law had given him and he finally realized why. It wasn’t any type of romantic affection or anything close to that. Law was treating him like a pet. In fact, the petting he’d done to Luffy just minutes ago showed even more that Law only saw him as a pet and nothing more. Maybe he even thought of Luffy as a stray cat that he had taken in.

He huffed in anger. He wasn’t some animal that Law could just adopt out of nowhere. He was a human being with his own life that he had lived before Law ever came around. Who did he think he was plucking Luffy out of his day to day and suddenly keeping him locked in his large mansion?

Marching back to his room Luffy set his decision in stone. He would find the ugliest thing in his wardrobe and wear it to dinner. That would show Law. He wouldn’t just sit back and do everything that was told of him. He wasn’t one to fight sitting down.

Luffy threw open the door to his room and made his way over towards his closet. He began rifling through all of the clothes that he now owned. Slipping on a bright orange hoodie and a pair of teal sweatpants, he cackled to himself while looking in the mirror. This was perfect. It hurt his own eyes just to look at it so he was sure it would give Law a stroke, or at least he hoped that it would give him a stroke.

He had to say, he was quite proud of himself for putting together such an atrocious outfit. It was probably one of his best fashion decisions if he was being honest. Luffy walked out of the closet and flopped face first onto the plush sheets of his bed, letting out a tired sigh. He hated being cooped up in this new house. His inner adventurer wasn’t resting well at all.

There was sunshine streaming in through the windows and cascading over Luffy’s bed. The covers were warm from the sun and Luffy curled up in the middle of the large bed. He let out a content hum in the back of his throat and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Luffy awoke to the door of his room opening. He rubbed his eyes groggily and looked towards the door where he saw Law looking over at him with a disapproving expression.

Law walked over to the bed and sat on it. “Sunshine, what is this you’re wearing?”

Luffy curled up even more as he huffed. “It’s what I’m wearing to dinner.”

“Oh no you’re not.” Law clicked his tongue and pulled Luffy up with him as he made his way towards the closet. “I told you to dress nice and this is not nice.”

Luffy let himself be tugged along and yawned. “Well it looks nice to me.”

Law sighed and picked out a crisp red suit along with a black undershirt. He held the garments out to Luffy. “Here, get changed into this.”

Luffy shook his head. “No, I refuse.”

Law growled. “You either dress yourself or I dress you. Which one do you want?”

Luffy blanked and considered his options before finally giving in to his anxiety. “I’ll dress myself…” He grabbed the suit and waited for Law to leave. When he didn’t move Luffy spoke again. “Are you going to leave so I can get changed?”

Humming, Law shook his head. “No, I don’t trust you to put it on.”

“Well can you at least turn around?” Luffy sighed.

Law chuckled. “Is my little Sunshine shy? That’s unnecessary but I’ll turn around.” True to his word Law did turn around so Luffy could get changed. The words proved to Luffy even further that Law did not see him in a romantic light. That was one thing to be glad about at least. 

“Thanks, I guess…” Luffy trailed off as he began changing, leaving out the suit jacket. Luffy looked himself over in the mirror and he had to admit that he did look good. “Okay, I’m done now.”

Turning back around, Law tsked and went to button up Luffy’s shirt all the way before grabbing a bowtie the same color as the suit. He tied it around Luffy’s neck and fixed it so that it was sitting straight. He brushed his hands through Luffy’s hair, trying to tame his bed head a little before stepping back to admire him.

“You look good now. Let’s go to dinner, everyone is waiting.” Law walked out of the closet and motioned for Luffy to follow after him.

“Everyone?” Luffy mumbled questioningly. He knew about Law’s uncle, the terrifying gang leader that was hauntingly creepy and unnerving. What other kinds of psychopaths could possibly be in this family? Luffy was not excited to find out. 

“Yes, my brother and my uncle. Normally my uncles’ executives would be coming as well but I asked them not to,” Law told him. They paused before entering what Luffy knew to be the large dining room outside the kitchen. Law turned and did a final check over Luffy’s appearance. “I didn’t want them to scare you, I know you’re still a bit skittish.” Law smiled sweetly down at him. 

Luffy bit back the curses he wanted to scream. All of his curses revolving around _not being a goddamn animal!_ Law turned and opened the door, wrapping an arm around Luffy’s back, making their grand entrance. 

The only one in the room was a bored looking gang leader. He had his long legs over the arm of his chair, playing enthusiastically on an old fashioned GameBoy. One of the new ones that was making millions leaching off peoples nostalgia. 

When Luffy and Law came in he dramatically tossed the handheld game over his shoulder and jumped to perch like a bird on the chair. 

“Law! Finally!” The man dragged out the word. “You brought the little cutie! Hello cutie kitty,” he cooed right at Luffy. 

With a scowl, Luffy sent the man a death glare. He was sick of being compared to an animal! Luffy looked away with a huff, not willing to greet someone that wasn’t using his given fucking name. 

Law shot a stern look at Luffy, which Luffy ignored. “Sorry Doffy, Luffy is being a little testy today.” 

Luffy shot a glare up at Law for daring to speak for him like he didn’t know _exactly_ why Luffy was pissed off. 

“It’s no worries Law, seeing him all pouty is cute too!” The man laughed, still cooing and watching Luffy intently. 

He had sunglasses covering his eyes but Luffy could _feel_ him watching. It all gave Luffy the creeps. 

“Oh Law, is this you-“ Luffy blinked, recognizing the voice but his brain not wanting to accept it. He looked up and spotted none other than Bepo. He sported an orange button up, white slacks, and a white tie. 

Bepo also seemed surprised to see Luffy, his jaw practically on the floor as he stared at Luffy like he had grown a second head. 

“Luffy?” Bepo asked like he didn’t believe it. 

Law raised a brow as the two stared at each other, both equally dumbfounded. Doffy just chuckled in that low tone that meant he was amused. 

“You two know each other?” Law asked. He knew Bepo worked in the hospital Luffy’s brother was at but Bepo didn’t deal with coma patients. Law would have thought that they have never crossed paths before. 

“Bepo... YOU BASTARD!” Law was given no warning as Luffy screamed, an animalistic growl reverberating in his chest. He leaped forward with a bloodthirsty intent to attack. 

Law quickly wrapped his arms around Luffy’s waist to stop him from assaulting the timid white haired man. 

Bepo let out a yelp of fright at Luffy’s snarling face directed at him. 

“Luffy! What the hell is going on with you?” Law yelled at the boy, his voice taking on a tone one would use to tell off a cat. 

Luffy ignored the man holding him, his entire focus on his so-called _friend._ Had he known Law was trying to take over Luffy’s entire life?! Is that why he tried to talk Law up the other day?

“Shut up!” Luffy twisted his neck around to snap at Law, trying to bite at his arms. Once Luffy realized that was going to yield no results he decided just to try and glare Bepo to death from a distance. “Did you pretend to be my friend to spy on my life for your psychopathic brother?!” Luffy snarled at Bepo, seeing the bear like man begin to tear up. “DID _YOU_ TELL HIM ABOUT MY BROTHER?!” 

“Luffy!” Law snapped, angered by seeing his little brother begin to shake and cry at the absolute rejection in Luffy’s voice. “Do. Not. Yell. At. Bepo!” Law ordered darkly. “You don’t want to piss me off, Sunshine, so calm down,” Law whispered with a strained hiss into Luffy’s ear. 

Luffy felt fear grip him, whipping out any anger left in him. He took a glance at Bepo who was still shaking and then at the blonde who seemed to know exactly what Law had said and he was _enjoying it._

“Luffy....” Bepo called with a shake in his voice. “I really didn’t know you knew my brother, is something the matter? Are you okay?” 

Trust Bepo to be concerned for someone else after being yelled at. Law rolled his eyes with an easy affection for the man. Bless his big heart. Law leaned down to whisper in Luffy’s ear again. “He doesn’t need to know anything, Sunshine, now apologize so we can eat. I know you're hungry.” 

Luffy clenched his fists and glared at his feet. He hated this, he hated being controlled like this, it made him feel so constrained. 

“Sorry Bepo,” Luffy ground his teeth with each word. “Just had a bad day.”

Bepo continued to look at him worriedly but gave a small nod of his head. “Oh, okay? How about we eat then? I know you have a big appetite.” 

Law smiled fondly at his brother and nodded. “Let’s sit.” Law took Luffy by his stiff shoulders and moved him to sit at the left of Law’s chosen seat, Bepo taking the seat to his right while Law and Doflamingo both took the heads of the table. 

Doflamingo was situated on the empty side of the six placement table. 

The dark oak wood table already had four covered silver platters set out. Briefly Luffy wondered how the person setting the table knew where everyone was going to sit. 

Luffy huffed, grabbing the handle of his covered platter, intending to lift it up and begin eating. He only managed to raise it an inch before Law’s hand shoved his platter back down, not even looking at him. 

Law’s eyes were fixed on the boa wearing gang leader. He seemed like he was waiting for something. Luffy looked between them with a pout. Now that he paid attention, both Law and Bepo seemed to be waiting for the gang leader to begin before uncovering their meal. 

“Let’s begin with formal introductions,” the man said as he lowered his chin to rest on his interlocked hands. Luffy shrank back as the man just stared at him. 

“Introduce yourself, Sunshine,” Law instructed him after a moment of strained silence. 

“I’m Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy,” he mumbled, twisting his fingers nervously in his lap. 

The blonde chuckled, looking over Luffy like he was some kind of exhibit in a zoo. 

“Nice to meet you, Little Kitty. I’m Donquixote Doflamingo, you may call me Doffy.” He leaned forward as he giggled the words, somehow invading Luffy's space while being a full seating placement away. 

“Did I not just say my name?” Luffy snapped. This guy called him ‘Kitty’ was getting on his fucking nerves, Law calling his Sunshine like he’d been renamed already made him feel enough like a resently adopted pet! Law cleared his throat and Luffy backed down with a disgruntled growl. “...Yeah, nice to meet you too.” 

Luffy crossed his arms and just pouted at the table. 

Doffy just preened at him before finally uncovering his meal. Immediately Law and Bepo followed suit. Luffy gave them all an indignant look and took off his own silver meal covering. 

After a while of silence and chewing Bepo spoke up. “So… How did you two meet?” There was a slight nervous and awkward shake to his voice.

Law glanced up at Bepo and smiled fondly at the memory. “We met at the masquerade ball that happened a little bit ago.”

Bepo raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, were you working there or were you attending?”

Luffy finished chewing before answering. “I was one of the waiters, yeah.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t see you,” Bepo responded.

“You did, he was the one who knocked a man unconscious,” Law said as if it was an offhand comment.

Bepo laughed. “Oh, that was you Luffy? You really made a ruckus, but that’s what the Baratie is known for, I guess. They’re fighting staff.”

Doflamingo rested his head on his hand and peered at Luffy again. “Oh, that’s right. I heard you were a fighter. What’s your tournament record?”

Law answered for him. “He’s won all thirty-three that he’s participated in.”

“My, my, you’ve got a rambunctious little kitty, Law.” Doflamingo bit into his salmon. “You might want to get him declawed.”

The statement made Luffy stiffen up. He wasn’t some feral cat that they could domesticate. He was a human being! He was about to retaliate when Law spoke up.

“We’re currently working on that,” Law replied smoothly.

Doflamingo hummed. “That’s good. How’s house training going?”

Luffy felt himself bubble over with rage but he could feel Law looking at him. He didn’t want to deal with the consequences of angering the other man so he glared down at his plate and continued eating.

“House training is going fine for the most part but he keeps meowing at locked doors trying to be let in.” Law popped another bite of salmon into his mouth.

Bepo let out a laugh. “C’mon guys, you’re teasing him way too much.”

Luffy ground his teeth. “Yeah, could you quit it?”

Doflamingo leaned back in his chair and sent him a grin so cold that it made Luffy freeze. “Aw, does the little kitty not like it? I guess you haven’t been trained well enough.”

Luffy growled at him but Law placed a hand over Luffy’s and gave him a glare. “He’s still settling in so I’ll give him some time.”

“So how is Ace doing?” Bepo asked, looking between the three other men with confusion. He didn’t involve himself in his family's business and had no idea what was going on but it felt tense. 

Luffy wanted to scream. Shit, shit, shit, he was so afraid he was going to blow his cover. What the fuck should he say? What the hell wasn’t going to be suspicious? “Uh, Ace is doing, um, great? The doctors, uh, said he could wake up at any moment. Yeah… so… yeah.” Luffy was sweating bullets as he stuffed the entire salmon on his plate into his mouth.

Doflamingo burst into laughter. “Law, look at him! He’s got quite the appetite! Make sure you don’t overfeed him!” Luffy was almost happy for the topic change. He hadn’t wanted that topic to continue because he definitely would have given himself away. 

Law chuckled along with his uncle. “Well he has a medical condition that calls for him to eat quite a bit so it’s fine. I’ll feed him as much as he’ll eat.”

Bepo stared at Luffy in shock, seeing the boy eat almost an entire salmon in one bite was wild. “Wow, I knew you had an appetite but you must be really hungry right now, huh?”

Luffy swallowed the salmon down. “Haha yeah, I’m super hungry. Yup! That’s why I’m eating so much, definitely.”

Law smiled fondly down at Luffy, petting a finger down his cheek. “Would you like seconds, Sunshine?” 

Luffy had a mind to say no just to be spiteful but he’d just said that he was incredibly hungry. That wasn’t even a lie either since he was always hungry. 

“Yeah, I would.” Luffy nodded his head hesitantly. 

Law motioned someone Luffy hadn’t noticed over and asked for a second plate to be brought out. The man rushed away to accomplish the task. 

Bepo asked Luffy more about how all of his friends were doing while they waited. Luffy seemed to be the only one feeling the awkward tension. Bepo was completely obvious to what was happening. Doflamingo was enjoying watching Luffy fidget and squirm under his sharp gaze. Then Law, the mastermind behind this slow torture, was just smiling pleasantly like this was all exactly what he wanted. 

Soon enough another plate was placed in front of Luffy and the evening wore on. 

Luffy only got through half his second plate before Law interjected into Bepo and Luffy’s stilted conversation. 

“I almost forgot, Sunshine.” Law stood from his seat, pulling something from his pocket. “I have a present for you.” Luffy’s eyes widened and he glanced around for an escape. He wanted to run, considering Luffy’s last _presents_ from Law. 

Law approached him slowly, his footsteps seemingly echoing in Luffy’s ears. The man moved behind him, one hand gently running fingers over Luffy’s shoulder and curling up his neck. Luffy shivered in dread. 

Law held up his other hand in front of Luffy’s face and let a black ribbon unravel from his tattooed fingers. 

“So you always know where you _belong,”_ he whispered into Luffy’s ear, swiftly tying the ribbon around his neck. A heart shaped tag dangled from the center of the thing, jingling slightly. Luffy didn’t move, frozen in shock and horror at being collared like an animal. 

Law hummed a soft sound of pleasure as he gave Luffy’s cheek an affectionate pet and moved back to his seat. 

Once Luffy’s ability to think came back to him his jaw dropped. His hands shot up and gripped the ribbon, tugging at it slightly since he suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. 

Luffy snapped his eyes up to Law, trying to keep his voice even. “You can’t collar me like I’m some sort of animal,” he growled out.

Law propped his head on his hand, staring at Luffy with a cold calculation. “This is what you do for pets, Sunshine. So they and everyone else knows who they belong to.” 

Luffy’s blood began to simmer beneath his skin, anger filling his head. He clenched his hand around the ribbon around his throat as he tried to reason with himself. He couldn’t blow up right now, not while Law held all the cards. 

Luffy clenched his fingers and shoved his plate away, his appetite abandoning him. In fact he might be sick. Getting up Luffy glared down at the table. “I’m going to bed,” Luffy said as calmly as he could manage.

Law’s eyes glinted, looking down at Luffy’s unfinished plate. “You didn’t finish, Sunshine, you need to eat.” 

Luffy’s lips fought to twist into a snarl as he tensed up, trying to hold in his rage. _That’s not his fucking name._ “I’m not hungry.” 

Law narrowed his eyes, Luffy was always hungry. “Hmm, fine. _Sunshine_ , give me a smile before you go,” Law demanded as he tilted his head, waiting for Luffy to do as he said. 

Luffy bit down on his tongue, squeezing his eyes shut so hard his eyes hurt. Luffy tried to think of Ace, of his friends, of anything that made him happy. He forced his lips to curve and gave Law a tight lipped smile.

Law frowned. The smile was not the sunny purity it normally was. Luffy was obviously much too overwhelmed to the moment. “Just go. You obviously need the sleep, Sunshine.” 

The moment he got permission Luffy turned on a dime and ran from the room, racing back to his prison. His only safe place. His room.

Luffy opened the door to his room, ran in, and quickly slammed it shut behind him. There were tears of anger and frustration prickling his eyes. They streamed down his face and he furiously wiped them away. Was he really crying right now? Was he really going to cry over this? He had no idea what to do. Law had basically called him nothing more than a pet. Luffy was a person, damn it! 

He flopped down onto the bed and curled up. His thoughts were swarming negatively. All he could think about was how everything had been taken from him. His new situation in being forced to be some psycho's pet was the cherry on top. Luffy didn't know how he was going to survive. He screwed his eyes shut and continued crying. Eventually he drifted off to sleep. He dreamt of nothing but the open sea and the freedom that came with it.


	8. Sunshine's Day Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG LIFE GOT IN THE WAY AND I RILTI HAVE GONE BACK TO SCHOOL SO I DONT HAVE AS MUCH TIME TO WRITE ANYMORE BUT HERE U GO

When morning came, Luffy found himself tucked in once again. He sat up and was immediately aware of the ribbon around his neck. He angrily ripped it off and hurled it across the room. Luffy buried his head in his pillow and screamed.

He thrashed around in his bed and kicked the covers off of him. He wanted to tear into something, to break something. Luffy was beyond angry and frustrated. Who did this bastard think he was doing this to him? He had half a mind to go up to Law's room and break the door down.

After going through his anger hazed plan of killing Law, Luffy’s stomach growled loudly. He clutched his stomach and frowned. Looks like he would have to kill Law another time. Looking down at himself, his frown deepened. He was still in his dinner clothes from the night before. Luffy walked into his closet and started stripping, picking out the comfiest clothes in the closet. He picked an oversized red hoodie that had the kanji for love stitched on it along with a pair of black basketball shorts. Slipping on a pair of sandals, he walked out of his bedroom and headed towards the kitchen.

Once he reached the kitchen he spotted Law sitting at the breakfast nook eating oatmeal with a variety of fruit and he scowled. Law hadn’t spotted him yet as he was too focused on whatever he was doing on his tablet. Luffy sneaked up behind him and began making choking motions in the air.

Unfortunately for him Law suddenly turned around. “Good morning, Sunshine. What are you doing?” 

Luffy dropped his hands like they were on fire and gave Law a big smile, trying to mask his nervousness. “What? I’m giving you a hug of course!” After the statement left his mouth he immediately wrapped his arms around Law’s shoulders.

Law hummed and nuzzled into Luffy’s neck before pulling back and giving a kiss to his temple. “Why so affectionate today? Is this making up for the way you behaved during dinner?”

Luffy pulled away as soon as he could and frowned, the anger coming back to him. “No, not really.” He moved towards the fridge and began looking through it, taking out some fruit before whining. He wanted scrambled eggs but he had no idea how to cook.

Law looked up from his tablet. “What’s wrong, Sunshine?”

Luffy hesitated before answering. “I want scrambled eggs, but I can’t cook...:”

“You’ve been living on your own for two years and you don’t know how to cook?” Law looked at him incredulously.

Luffy’s face flushed in embarrassment. “It’s not my fault! I have other things to focus on instead of learning how to cook. Besides, Sanji cooks for me or I buy food.”

Something bubbled up inside of Law when he heard that someone else had been hand feeding his kitten. Law chuckled mostly to rid himself of the dark emotion. “Well here, let me cook for you then.” He stood up from his seat and brought out everything he needed to make scrambled eggs with bacon, since he knew that Luffy had a big appetite.

Luffy took a seat where Law had just been sitting and watched as the other man mixed eggs in a bowl along with other spices. On instinct he began eating the food in front of him which was Law’s unfinished oatmeal. He hummed happily as he finished the bowl in record time. Surprisingly the oatmeal wasn’t bland and was actually quite tasty along with the many fruits that paired with it.

Luffy looked Law over and noticed he was wearing an odd spotted hat. Before he could stop himself the question came rolling out of his mouth. “Hey Torao, what’s with the dead leopard on your head?”

Law turned around as he was lighting the stove and gave Luffy a questioning look. “Dead leopard? You mean my hat? My hat isn’t made from leopard fur,” he chuckled.

“Well it looks kinda weird,” Luffy responded.

Law poured the eggs into the hot pan and hummed. “My hat isn’t weird, Sunshine. Besides I could say the same thing about that straw hat that you’re always wearing. I can buy you a new and better one if you want.”

Luffy gasped and clutched the strawhat to his chest. “NO! Someone very important and special gave me this hat! He told me to give it back to him when I become a strong person!”

Law hummed, his eyebrows drawing together at that announcement. This mystery person was instantly someone Law didn’t like. He knew this conversation was a dead end and instead decided to change the topic. 

“Alright, where is your collar?” Law asked, a warning in his voice. 

Luffy pouted, turning up his nose at the man. “That thing? Don’t know.” 

Law scraped the eggs and bacon onto a plate before turning to Luffy with a raised brow. 

“You don’t know?” Law placed the plate in front of Luffy, grabbing up his now empty bowl of oatmeal. He should have known Luffy would eat it so the blame for that was on him. Luffy grumpily looked away, grabbing the plate as he began to shovel the eggs into his mouth. “Well fine, I have a spare anyway.” 

Luffy froze as Law nonchalantly pulled a second black ribbon from his pocket, the tag on it jingling slightly. 

Luffy glared at the black ribbon, not stopping eating as he willed it to burst into flames. 

Luffy swallowed the mouthful of eggs he screwed up his mouth in anger. “No, I won’t wear that because I’m not an animal!” he yelled. 

Law sighed back at Luffy, rolling his eyes like Luffy was being childish. “Do I need to remind you about who is in control here?” 

With resentment Luffy let his face fall, knowing that this wasn’t a fight he could win just yet. He slumped his shoulder before looking out the window. Luffy had always been the kind of person that could bounce back pretty easily, but this situation was beginning to just make Luffy feel drained. 

“That’s a good boy,” Law hummed as he stepped forward to wrap the ribbon around Luffy’s neck and tied it off. 

Luffy contained a growl in his throat, furious but resigned... for now. 

Law sat down next to Luffy and placed his arm behind the boy along his chair. “Sunshine, do you work today?” Law continued with polite conversation. 

“No,” Luffy huffed, not trusting himself to speak. A tightness had formed in his chest and he felt as if at any moment he’d either burst into tears or start attacking people at random. 

“Then are you planning to continue exploring your new home? You haven’t even made it to the backyard yet,” Law spoke, uncaring of the way Luffy was tightening up and tugging at the ribbon. The book he’d picked up on domesticating feral animals mentioned that adjusting to a collar could take weeks, so he decided to ignore it for now. 

“No, one of my friends wants to hang out and then I was going to check when my next fight is for Goa Circle,” Luffy explained, trying to make the collar feel less like a vice around his throat. 

“Which friend? I do not want you going off with someone I don’t know.” 

Luffy snapped his eyes to law and glared. “You can’t keep me from my friends, every single one of them is more trustworthy than you!” 

Law sent a pointed look at Luffy. “You may think that but I’m the one who owns you.”

Luffy ground his teeth in anger. “You can’t own me. I’m a person, not a pet.”

Law sighed as he rested his head on his hand. “Sunshine, do you want to go out or not?”

Luffy’s face fell as he realized he couldn’t go unless Law approved. Holding back a scream he tried to answer as calmly as he could. “I was planning to go out with Usopp today.”

“Hm, the one with the long nose? He doesn’t seem like a threat so I suppose it’s fine.” Law picked up a napkin and wiped the sides of Luffy’s mouth. “You eat very messily.”

It took Luffy a moment to process his anger over what Law had said about Usopp. He was shocked by the gentleness that Law had displayed just now. “What do you mean threat? None of my friends are threats! And don’t tell me about my eating habits!”

Law hummed. “I can never be too careful. I don’t want you using them to escape.”

Luffy glared at Law. “I wouldn’t drag them into this shit show.”

Law narrowed his eyes at Luffy but didn’t respond to his comment. He stood up and kissed the crown of Luffy’s head. “Well, I have work to do. Call Penguin or Shachi when you go out. If you don’t take at least one of them you’re going to be punished for it.”

Luffy wanted to snarl at Law but held himself back. “Fine, whatever. Just leave already.”

“I think you’re missing something, Sunshine.”

Luffy had to take a deep breath and clear his thoughts before thinking of his happiest memories. It took him a bit before he could finally give Law a proper smile.

Satisfied, Law pet Luffy’s hair before he turned and headed towards the direction of his office, leaving Luffy alone with his thoughts. 

Luffy continued to shovel eggs into his mouth as he tried not to boil over in anger. Seriously, who did this bastard think that he was? He yearned for the days when he had never met Law. In fact he was starting to seriously regret ever agreeing to work for the Baratie at that event. It was also an issue that it was getting increasingly harder to give Law a smile each and every time that he asked for it. Luffy was starting to hate the man with every fibre of his being.

Once he finished eating he went back to his room and dug through his closet for an outfit to wear. He decided on an elbow sleeve red shirt that had a white butterfly printed on the back and a pair of light wash ripped jeans that were loose fit. Tucking his shirt into his jeans he then slipped on his usual pair of sandals.

Luffy wandered into the living room where Shachi and Penguin spent most of their time. He was ready to leave. He spotted them sitting on the couch and playing their usual round of video games.

Walking over to the couch, Luffy called to them. “Yo, Shachi, Peng!”

The two paused their game and looked at him. “What’s up, Luffy?” Penguin asked.

“I need one of you to take me to Party’s Cafe. I’m meeting up with one of my friends,” Luffy replied.

Shachi nodded. “Yeah, I remember Law told us about taking you somewhere.”

Penguin turned to Shachi. “Okay rock, paper, scissors. Loser has to take Luffy. Best two outta three.”

A serious look came over Shachi’s face as he readied himself. They ended up playing three rounds with Shachi being the loser. Penguin laughed as he celebrated his victory, rubbing it in Shachi’s face. Shachi glared at him and shoved him off of the couch.

“Quit being a sore winner,” he growled.

Penguin shot him his own glare from the floor. “Excuse me, there’s no such thing. I believe the one being sore here is you.”

Shachi rolled his eyes and turned to Luffy. “Alright whatever, let's just go, Luffy. We don’t need this dick bag.”

They both ignored Penguin’s offended ‘Hey!’ and made their way towards the garage. Shachi turned on the lights and Luffy held back a gasp. Law had a multitude of different cars and all of them looked sleek and expensive. Shachi walked over to the car they had used last time Luffy was dropped off and told him to get in.

Starting the engine, Shachi waited until Luffy was buckled up to start driving out of the garage. The trip to Party’s cafe was short lived and filled with idle chatter between the two. Once they had gotten there Shachi parked the car and both of them made their way inside of the cafe.

Luffy spotted Usopp sitting at one of the tables and quickly called out to him. “Oi! Usopp!”

Usopp’s head immediately shot up at the mention of his name and he grinned at Luffy. “Luffy! You’re here!” He then spotted Shachi next to Luffy and furrowed his brows. “Who’s that?”

Luffy took a seat across Usopp and Shachi sat next to him. “Huh? Oh this is Shachi. Shachi, this is Usopp.”

Shachi nodded at Usopp in acknowledgement.

Usopp gasped and slapped both of his hands on his face, squishing his cheeks together. “Luffy! Do you have a boyfrieeennnddd?” He gave Luffy a shit eating grin.

Before Luffy could respond Shachi frantically started waving his hands. “NO! No oh my God! I am definitely not his boyfriend, please don’t ever think that! If you ever say that in public again my boss will have my head.”

Luffy laughed at him. “Yeah, sorry to get your hopes up Usopp, but he’s most definitely not my boyfriend.”

Usopp gave Luffy a confused look. “What? Then who is he? Why is he here?”

Shachi cleared his throat. “I’m the bodyguard his actual boyfriend hired for him.”

Before Luffy could calm his anger he snapped at Shachi. “Shachi, why don’t you go wait outside instead of blurting out random things that aren’t necessary?”

Shachi looked at Luffy and could see his anger clear as day. “Sorry Lu, I guess I couldn’t help myself. I’ll be back in ten minutes so you can cool off.” With that Shachi got up and went to stand outside of Party’s Cafe.

Once they were alone, Luffy acknowledged Usopp’s questioning stare. “Look, I don’t really wanna talk about it. But just so you know, I don’t really have a boyfriend.”

Usopp hummed and leaned back in his seat. “Okay, I’ll respect that, but sooner or later you’re gonna have to spill the beans.”

Luffy rested his head on the table and groaned. “Yeah, I know, I know. It’s not going to be anytime soon though.”

All of a sudden the bell to the cafe door chimed, indicating that someone had just walked in. They both turned towards the door and were surprised to see a very angry Nami. She spotted them as soon as they spotted her and she quickly stalked over to their table and took a seat next to Luffy.

“You would not believe what kind of shit people pull these days!” she growled.

Luffy tilted his head at her, confused. “Huh? What happened?”

“There’s this dude outside that thinks he can frisk people before they go into this place! Like this isn’t a public cafe! Who the hell is this guy?! I’m sure Makino did not hire him.” Nami crossed her arms and glared at the wall.

Usopp gave Luffy a look. “Luffy, would you like to elaborate?”

Luffy whistled and looked off to the side. “I have no idea what you mean.”

Nami fixed her glare onto Luffy. “Luffy, what is Usopp talking about?”

Luffy immediately started sweating and tried to block out Nami’s gaze as best as he could. “Uh, I really have no idea what he’s talking about.”

Nami growled and pinched his cheek. “No, no, I know you know. So spit it out already, you idiot!”

“Ow, ow, ow! Nami that hurts! Fine I’ll tell you! He’s my bodyguard!” Luffy rubbed his cheek when Nami let go.

Nami let out a gasp. “Bodyguard? Why do you have a bodyguard?”

Luffy groaned. “Let’s just say someone hired him to protect me. That’s all I’m going to say.”

Nami gave Luffy a concerned look but decided to drop it. “Oh! I just remembered! I need to tell you guys about my latest heist! I’m going after the leader of the heart gang.” She paused and smirked for dramatic effect. “Trafalgar Law.”

Luffy felt his heart drop into his stomach and he paled. “Nami, no! You can go after anyone but him! Please, I’m begging you!”

“What, why? I’ve dealt with worse people than him.” Nami raised her eyebrows at Luffy.

“Yeah, Nami’s dealt with way worse! What’s different about this time?” Usopp asked.

Luffy sighed and tried to calm his racing heart. “Look, I’ve been dealing with the world of gangs for a long time. I’ve seen the way he operates, Nami. It’s not safe for you. You could really end up dead this time!”

Nami stared at Luffy for a few seconds before she sighed. “Fine, I won’t do it.”

Luffy sagged in relief as soon as the words left her mouth. “Oh my God, thank you.”

Nami shared a look with Ussop, weirded out by Luffy’s strange behavior. Luffy wasn’t one for caution. Normally when he heard one of his friends was doing something dangerous, he’d just laugh and get excited about the adventure of it all. 

She would still rob the Heart Gang blind. She just wouldn’t tell Luffy since he seemed to be a little more sensitive than usual. 

The three began to chat as they normally did, ignoring the metaphorical elephant in the room. Shachi came back in a while later and sat across from them, playing on a handheld game but obviously watching the three teens. 

“How’s Kaya doing?” Nami asked even as the creeps continued stare began to make Ussop and Nami extremely uncomfortable. 

“She’s good. She’s still fragile but insisting on studying all night for her exams,” Ussop explained. He smiled slightly just thinking of his fiancé. “I can’t really complain, I stay up all night writing so sometimes when we’re done we get to have impromptu video game nights and then pass out on the couch!” 

Nami and Luffy both grinned, happy for their friend. Kaya and Ussop were childhood sweethearts. The fact that they were still so obviously in love was sweet to everyone that saw it. Luffy had never been one for romance. Sure he could tell when others were attractive, but romance usually alluded him. He couldn’t help but be a little envious, hoping to someday find someone that completes him, like Kaya completes Ussop. 

“You two are so cute,” Nami sighed, teasing sarcasm filling her voice. “Makes me sick.”

“Shut it, Nami! You’re just jealous!” Ussop stuck his tongue out at her. 

The two began to bicker and Luffy laughed, feeling the weight that had settled on him that morning begin to lift. 

“Lu,” the sweet voice of Makino called, causing Luffy to look up to see she’d dealt with the last of her customers and was heading over. 

“Hey Makino!” Luffy grinned up at her. Ussop and Nami both greeting her as well.

“It’s good to see you all again.” Makino nodded, setting down a round of drinks for them. She always brought him and his friends free drinks, no matter how much Luffy protested. “Luffy, Robin was in here earlier. Seems she hasn’t seen you in a while, you should drop by the bookstore.”

Luffy perked up, seeing the hard edge in Makino’s eyes. She had just sent him a message. Makino should really consider becoming a spy. She had a surprising talent for keeping cool under pressure. 

“Oh, wow we’ve been talking a while,” Nami said as she checked her watch. “I have to get going, heists and burgling to plan.” She winked as if it was a joke but everyone knew it wasn’t. 

“Alright, remember our promise!” Luffy called as she gathered her things, sent a glare at Shachi, and left with a skip in her step. 

“Where did my cookie go?” someone at another table asked loudly in confusion. Luffy could see Nami eating it as she passed the window, he wondered when exactly she stole that. 

“That girl is terrifying,” Ussop muttered, Makino and Luffy laughing. 

“Truly a little misfit,” Makino agreed as she left to pull out a new cookie and brought it to the unfortunate person that had his stolen. 

“I’ve got to head out too, I’ve had to pick up Kaya from her college. See ya’ dude, love you to bits!” Ussop pulled Luffy into a hug. “And don’t go home with any stalkers!” 

Luffy cuddled into him, loving the physical contact and agreed to his terms. He wouldn’t go home with any more stalkers. 

“See you Ussop!” Luffy waved. From the corner of his eye he could see Shachi get up from the table to move over to Luffy’s side. 

“Ready to go home?” 

“Actually I have to drop by to see my friend at her book shop,” Luffy responded.

Shachi hummed in acknowledgement and followed Luffy as he made his way out of the cafe. He started walking towards the car but Luffy stopped him.

“We’re gonna be walking, actually.”

Shachi made a face at him. “What? Why?”

Luffy huffed. “Because I haven’t had the chance to stretch my legs like this in days!”

Shachi sighed. “Fine, fine, let’s just go then.”

Luffy gave Shachi a wide smile and started walking in the direction of Robin’s bookstore. They walked along the sidewalk and Luffy said hi to a surprising amount of people in Shachi’s opinion. Did this kid know everyone in town or what? He walked a little bit behind Luffy and noticed how happy the teen was. There was a light skip in his step and he was humming a simple tune.

They passed by a multitude of shops before Luffy stopped at a building that was painted dark blue. There was a sign above that read ‘Poneglyph Bookstore’ and another sign that said ‘Pluton Carpentry’ right beside it. Shachi noticed that the two stores were joined together and he thought it was an odd combination.

Luffy swung the door open and immediately yelled, “Robin! I’m here just like you asked!” 

Shachi walked in after Luffy and took the moment to glance around the bookstore. It was quite cozy with a few plush armchairs scattered throughout along with a few tables to accompany them. Bookshelves lined the walls of the store and there were multiple aisles of them as well. There was a distinct smell of coffee in the air which was odd because it was a bookstore. Shachi decided that he liked the ambiance that the quaint little store gave off. There was sunlight streaming through the windows as well which made it feel more welcoming than it already did.

Luffy walked up to the counter and immediately threw his torso over it to hug Robin. “I missed you! Makino said you needed to see me!”

Robin laughed as she hugged him back. “Yes, you actually forgot to sign out a book that you had last time.”

Shachi watched the interaction with disinterest until a yell sounded from behind the door to the back room. The door swung open to reveal a muscular man in a speedo wearing an obnoxiously bright hawaiian shirt. Shachi’s eyes widened as he took the man’s stature in. He had to be at least seven feet tall! Paired with his teal hair and sunglasses that he was wearing indoors, he was oddly intimidating. But he was dressed like a complete psychopath!

“Yow! You there! Yes, you!” The man pointed at Shachi and started dancing.

Shachi looked around frantically hoping that he wasn’t talking to him. He paled when he realized that there was no one else he could be talking to.

“Oh! Franky! It’s good to see you!” Luffy waved enthusiastically from where he was at the counter.

Franky grinned and gave Luffy finger guns. “Oh! Luffy, bro! It’s super nice to see you.” He turned back to Shachi. “I’m talking to you buddy!”

Shachi took a step back. “Did-Did you need something from me?”

Franky struck a pose and laughed. “Yes I do! You look absolutely SUUUPPPEERRR for the job I'm trying to do.”

Shachi’s confusion only continued to grow with each word the man said. “What do you need me for?”

Franky huffed and flipped his hair up. “As you can see, my super manly hands are very big! But you bro have the perfect sized hands to help me finish this crib I’m making.”

Shachi looked over to Luffy for help. “Uh, I have to be with Luffy…”

Luffy waved him off. “You can’t just say no to Franky! That’s so mean! Go help him.”

Shachi cursed and side eyed Franky. “Fine, okay, I’ll help you.”

“SUUUPPEERRR!” Franky opened the back door for Shachi and they both disappeared.

Robin smiled at Luffy. “Back to what we were doing.” She opened the top book of a stack that sat on the counter to reveal hospital documents that Luffy needed to sign for Ace.

Luffy gave her a strained smile back and immediately got to work signing the documents. Once he was done Robin shut the book and put it under the counter to deal with later.

“This isn’t the first clandestine operation I’ve done before.” She gave Luffy a wink.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you!” Luffy laughed.


	9. Sunshine Can’t Swim

Luffy left the shop with a bright and cheery smile, finally feeling back to his old self. He couldn’t free himself immediately, Robin had detailed a few instructions in the edges of a book she had pretended to be showing off to him. Once she had Ace moved and hidden from Law she would send him a one worded message. Then Luffy knew he could fight back with all his might!

Shachi followed behind at a slower pace, exhausted from his encounter with a blue haired giant with an enormous amount of personality. After he had gotten done helping with the crib the man had insisted on dragging Shachi around the shop to show off everything he’d ever built. 

Luffy could practically dance on air, soon he’d be free again, and freedom was everything. Luffy’s only dream was to be free, at some point he wanted to be the most free man alive! 

The sound of music drifting happily on the wind made Luffy’s already bright mood shine. 

“Brook!” Luffy gasped in glee and took off down the street. 

“Hey! Luffy!” Shachi yelled at him, running after the boy he was supposed to be protecting. 

Luffy didn’t bother looking back at Shachi, just focused on seeing Brook again. The maybe homeless musician was impossible to find if someone was actually looking for him, he was a person you only ever met by chance. 

Luffy took two turns before stumbling upon Brook as he played the violin on a street corner, a few bystanders gathered to listen. Brook really was extremely talented, no one could say that he wasn’t an amazing musician. 

“BROOK!” Luffy yelled. The stick thin man jolted, stumbling and making his violin shriek from the sudden movement. 

Brook looked over, his hand grasping his chest above his heart. “Yohoho! Luffy~! You almost made my heart stop! ...Although my heart has stopped before, YOHOHOHO!” Brook laughed loudly, a few people booing him before walking away. 

Luffy laughed along with him, excited to see one of his best friends. He was also glad Brook was still alive, the man’s probable homelessness made their entire group worry. 

Brook was a tall man, he almost looked like a walking and talking skeleton. His skin was pale, and his small, round sunglasses didn’t help in making his face look less like a skull. His most prominent feature was his large 80’s afro. He wore an old, ratty suit. He definitely seemed like he’d just been exhumed. 

“Brook! I haven’t seen you in forever!” Luffy jumped at the man to wrap him up into a tight hug. He wasn’t overly dirty, and he never was either, maybe he wasn’t homeless? Luffy still didn’t know. 

“It has been awhile, I got fed by Sanji yesterday and they said you’d been a little absent. You even left your brothers moped with them!” Brook said this all with large hand moments and a giant smile. His grin was the only one that got close to the brightness of Luffy’s own. 

“Yeah... I’ve had some stuff going on,” Luffy muttered, glancing to the left. 

“Yo Ho Ho,” Brook laughed, turning away to grab up a whale shaped thermos and pouring himself a cup of tea. He sat himself on a random crate on the street, taking a moment to calm himself. “I see, by the way, what is that new necklace of yours?” 

Luffy shot a hand up to his neck, feeling the  _ collar  _ Law had put on his neck that morning. 

“It’s nothing,” Luffy stated, ripping it off and causally tossing the ribbon down a sewer grate. 

Brook raised a brow but didn’t ask. That was what Luffy loved about Brook, he never pressed when he could tell someone didn’t want to talk about something. 

“LUFFY!” The shout made Luffy turn and remember he’d left Shachi in the dust. Sometimes Luffy forgot what a fast runner he was. 

“Oh Shachi, you made it!” Luffy grinned. “You have to hear Brooks' music! He’s the best!” 

Shachi’s eye twitched in irritation, his phone was up to his ear, and he was panting heavily into it. 

“I found him,” he mumbled into it, he listened for a moment before tucking his phone into his jeans. “Luffy I thought you were making a run for it! You can’t just dash off, Law might take away your wandering privileges if you do that again!” 

Luffy gave the man a sour look before forcing out a laugh. “Oh Shachi, you’re so funny!” Luffy made a gesture at Brook. “Don’t joke like that, again this is one of my  _ close and extremely protective  _ friends, Brook!” 

Shachi seemed to catch onto what Luffy meant and looked over to the homeless man busking on the street corner. 

“Oh, um hi?” Shachi said to the man. 

“Hello! Yo Ho Ho, it’s nice to meet another friend of Luffy’s. He has so many, don’t worry most of us recognize a joke!” Brook grinned. “Although you could say my sense of humor is dead, because I died once! YOHOHO!” 

Luffy laughed while Shachi just looked at him in disbelief. Shachi stepped closer to Luffy and whispered, “why are all your friends weirdos and freaks?” 

Luffy pouted at him. “Brook isn’t a freak, he’s just a wacky homeless man.... or an eccentric millionaire. I’m not sure.”

“Yohoho,” Brook chuckled, putting down his teacup. “Didn't you say you wanted to hear a song, Luffy?” 

“Yes!” Luffy chirped immediately. Music normally meant people stopped talking and didn’t release any secrets that would needlessly worry his friends.

Brook nodded and picked up his violin again, beginning a song that Brook knew was Luffy’s favorite. It was an old pirate shanty that made Luffy think of ultimate freedom. 

Luffy clapped his hands and began to dance around. People stopped, listening and watching the show in delight. Before Luffy was old enough to legally hold a job he earned money by busking with Brook, people seemed to enjoy his dancing. 

Shachi took a step back and kept a firm eye on Luffy. Law was already upset that Luffy was out of sight for even a moment, he didn’t need to mess up again. 

He actually enjoyed the show and the music, it was rare moments like this that Shachi understood what Law saw in Luffy. He was actually very cute, and his unbridled joy was infectious. 

The screech of car tires caused everything to falter. 

Luffy turned his attention to the car that had come to a stop in front of the crowd. The smile on his face disappeared quicker than Zoro could piss off Sanji. He recognized that car, it was Law’s car. Unconsciously he moved closer to Brook as the car door opened.

Law stepped out of the car and raised his sunglasses to sit on the top of his head. He surveyed his surroundings. There was a small crowd surrounding Shachi, Luffy, and someone he didn’t know. He scowled immediately as he realized that Luffy was standing very close to the unknown person.

He strode over to Luffy with confident steps and pulled him by the hand away from the other man over to his side. “Sunshine, where were you? Shachi told me you just ran off and we thought you were trying to escape.” Law looked Luffy up and down as he searched for any injuries that he might have gotten in the short time that he was out of Shachi’s view. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed that Luffy was no longer wearing his collar. “And where is your collar?”

Luffy glared down at the ground. “I was just going to see my friend Brook! It’s not like I was trying to get away…” He pursed his lips. “And I threw that stupid thing into the sewer. I don’t like it.”

The crowd around them had started whispering things. Why was this man interacting with someone like Luffy? Their appearances differed greatly. While Law was wearing a full suit that anyone could tell was custom tailored to him, polished dress shoes, and a Rolex on his wrist, Luffy was just in his casual outfit and along with his straw hat and sandals. He hadn’t even bothered to brush his hair so it was a mess of black strands. The two of them looked like they were from completely different worlds.

Law sighed and ran a hand through Luffy’s hair. It was almost like he was petting him. “You have to learn to live with it.” He reached into the inside of his suit jacket and pulled out another collar from the pocket that was sewn into it.

Luffy’s eyes widened as he saw Law pull the collar out. His face went from shocked to angry in less than a second. He backed away from Law. “I’m not putting that on,” he hissed.

Law smirked at him. “Then I’ll be putting it on for you. Come here, Sunshine.”

Luffy took a moment to weigh his options. He looked around himself and assessed the situation he was in. Brook was here and he was starting to look concerned. Then there was the crowd around them that had seemed to have gotten bigger that was watching the whole thing go down. He frowned as he realized he would have to go along with what Law wanted if he didn’t want to make an even bigger scene and possibly expose himself to Brook.

Taking small and careful steps towards Law, Luffy never let the frown fall from his face. When Luffy was close enough, Law placed a gentle kiss on Luffy's forehead and mumbled a: “Good boy,” which Luffy could tell was heard by everyone by the amount of whispering that increased. 

Luffy’s face flushed from shame and embarrassment. Law was treating him like some pet again and he hated it! To avoid Brook figuring out his secret Luffy buried his face into Law’s chest and wrapped his arms around his middle. 

Law raised his eyebrows at the action. It was something he hadn’t expected at all. This was the second time that Luffy had hugged him and it made him incredibly happy. He liked the fact that Luffy was much smaller than him. If he wanted Law could rest his head on top of Luffy’s and not be uncomfortable.

“What’s this? You were just throwing a fit.” Experimentally Law wrapped his arms around Luffy and held him close.

Luffy tried to ignore how good the hug felt. Law was holding him like he was something precious and Luffy couldn’t find it within himself to hate the physical affection. Instead of answering Law’s question Luffy instead just sighed. “Just put it on me…”

Law hummed and released Luffy from his hold but Luffy clung onto him. He decided he wouldn’t press further about the hug. Law slipped the collar onto Luffy’s neck and tied off the end into a neat bow.

Luffy had to pretend that the collar didn’t make his skin crawl. He was a human being! Not some animal that Law could just play around with! He couldn’t throw a fit in the middle of the street though, no matter how much he wanted to. Instead he resorted to squeezing Law as much as he could without actually putting him in pain and getting himself into even more trouble.

He mumbled something that Law didn’t quite hear.

Law carded his fingers through Luffy’s black locks and peered down at him. “What was that?”

Luffy pulled away from Law’s chest so his voice wouldn’t be muffled. “Can I still go to the bar to check when my next fight is?”

Law sighed. “You’re not going there unless Jean Bart is with you and he’s out working right now.”

Luffy puffed out his cheeks and made an impulse decision. “Okay but what if you go with me?”

Law contemplated it for a bit before answering. “Sure, I’ll go with you. In fact I’m going to be the one watching you now.” He turned to Shachi. “Shachi, you can go home.”

Shachi resisted the urge to cry tears of joy. He had met way too many weirdos today and Luffy being Luffy was not helping. “Sure thing, Boss.”

Suddenly Brook laughed. “Yohohohoho! I get it now! It was just a lover’s quarrel!”

Luffy’s face paled as he heard Brook’s statement. With his face still buried in Law’s chest he forced out a laugh. “Yep! Exactly!”

Brook tipped his hat to Law. “Take good care of him then!” He once again started to play his violin as he walked off. The people in the crowd seemed to take this as their cue to leave as well and started dispersing. They had gotten their fill of soap opera drama for the day. 

He stopped in his tracks. “Oh!” Turning back around he gathered his belongings into a bindle and attached it to his cane. “Almost forgot my things! Yohohoho! Goodbye Luffy!”

Collecting himself Luffy finally turned to Brook and offered him a grin and a wave. “Bye Brook!”

Once he was out of sight Luffy quickly stepped away from Law. He ignored the feeling of missing the warmth. In fact he trampled it down and locked it away into the depths of his mind. 

“Why did your homeless friend have an eight thousand dollar cane?” Law questioned.

Luffy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “You can tell how much his cane is worth?”

Law nodded. “Well yes, I do enjoy browsing luxuries in my free time.”

Luffy ignored the feeling of wanting to roll his eyes and instead opted to explain. “Well that was Brook. We don’t know if he’s a crazy homeless person or an eccentric millionaire.”

Law hummed. “Interesting.”

“Yeah, my friends are the best,” Luffy smiled softly at Brook’s retreating back, watching as he dumped all the money people had put in his hat into a charity box. The music made even crying children stop and laugh as he went, Luffy loved him. 

“You certainly have a diverse set of them.” Law wrapped an arm around Luffy’s waist and maneuvered him towards the car. He opened the door for him and then moved to the drivers side. They headed off with not another word exchanged between them. 

* * *

  
  
  


The Pub and Pies bar hushed the moment Luffy stepped in, Law’s arm laid over his shoulders. 

The car ride over had been awkward and suffocating, Law wasn't exactly good at small talk and Luffy never talked small. So in the end neither had known what to say to the other. 

Now the way everyone turned to stare, and even began to shake in fear, made Luffy curl into himself slightly. He hadn’t forgotten about the last time he was here and how Law had committed a massacre for him. 

“What's so interesting?” Law asked the room harshly. Everyone quickly looked away and as everyone began returning to their conversations Law and Luffy walked deeper into the bar. 

Luffy tried not to flinch as eyes glanced at him every few seconds. 

“Better not look at him too long.”

“Don’t want to end up like Bellamy...”

“Best not to mess with the Surgeon of Death’s new arm candy...”

“Poor boy.”

Luffy hated what they said about him, like just because Law had captured him,  _ for now,  _ he’d lost all agency! 

Luffy stomped his feet and moved quickly to the bar top, wanting to get this over with. Shaking off Law’s arm was just a bonus. 

The bartender gave him a pale faced look, gulping a bit. “Uh, name?” He asked, already knowing Luffy was in the current tournament. 

“Monkey D. Luffy,” Luffy told him, the words ending in a pissed growl as Law wrapped his arms around him the moment he stepped close again. 

The man nodded and walked away, discreetly he pulled a list from under a loose part of the bar top and checked it over. 

He nodded to himself and then busied himself with making the strong drink that came with each fight check in. Luffy would have fights until everyone that had entered had lost and only one fighter was left. 

The drink was placed down in front of Luffy. 

“Congrats on your win, you’re in the fifth round.” 

Luffy nodded. This month would be dedicated to fights for Goa Circle, he was in the second round last time and the fifth this time. That meant they were having at least three fights a night, they must have a lot of gangs trying to get the area. 

Now he just had to drink the revolting shot of alcohol, he couldn’t not, people would think him weak. 

Luffy’s face twisted, he really hated this drink, he hated alcohol in general. 

Law glanced at Luffy as he hesitated to drink the strong shot. He knew it was a show of strength but he could tell Luffy really didn’t want to drink it. It made him think about how Luffy would opt to drink water and juice at dinner instead of the nice wine Law offered every night. 

He had thought at the time that Luffy just didn’t like wine, but now he thought Luffy possibly just doesn’t like to drink. 

Luffy took a deep breath and picked up the drink, looking like he was about to throw back the drink as fast as he could so he didn’t have to taste it. Law quickly shot out a hand and grabbed Luffy's wrist to stop him. 

Luffy looked up at him, startled, and silently asked what he wanted. 

“You don’t have to drink it,” Law told him. 

“What?” Luffy asked, confused as to why Law would stop him. He was a gang leader, he should know why he had to drink it. 

“Sunshine, you’re with me. No one is going to mess with you while I’m here, and I’d rather you not do something you don’t want to.” Law squeezed his shoulder and then took the glass and dumped it out. 

Luffy felt his mind short circuit for a second before a large smile took over his face. Luffy glowed from his relief and happiness, he hated that drink and Law was actually doing a nice thing by noticing that.  _ This was why people had others in their gang, so they had people to watch their back! _

Of course Luffy knew that but he hadn’t experienced what he’d been missing before now. 

Law felt his heart skip a beat, the smile he got from such a small thing was blinding. 

“Come on, let’s go home. You still have a lot more exploring to do, you haven’t even gotten to the backyard yet.” Law let his lips curl slightly as Luffy took his offered hand and happily walked out with him. Luffy was finally behaving the way Law knew he could. 

_ Much better!  _

The car ride was filled with Luffy complaining about how much he didn’t like the drink, or alcohol in general and what he'd much rather prefer, like any type of food at all. Law found it interesting that Luffy hated alcohol so much but didn’t question it. The entire time was pleasant and Law couldn’t help but feel happy with the amount of joy that radiated off of Luffy. It was practically contagious.

Once they had arrived back home Luffy immediately headed to the kitchen to have lunch. He gave Law a smile without needing to be asked before he left which surprised Law. He wondered what other sort of things could make Luffy this happy. 

Law went to his room to change out of his suit and into a pair of swim trunks and a jacket that he left unzipped. He decided that he would be finishing up the rest of his work outside by the pool. 

Luffy sat at the kitchen table swinging his feet back and forth while eating his mac and cheese. He was humming a small tune and was still radiating happiness. For once being with Law gave him something good! Maybe there were other benefits of having Law around. He looked around himself and decided that since he had nothing else to do he would explore. Law mentioned that he hadn’t seen the backyard. He wondered what made the backyard special.

Finishing his mac and cheese, Luffy put his dishes in the sink and walked towards where the backyard would be. He stepped out into the open air and smiled as the sunshine warmed his skin. It was a nice contrast to the cool fall air. He spotted Law typing away on his laptop next to the pool. He was sitting on a lounge pool chair. Luffy glanced around him and noticed that there was a garden of Sunflowers. He gasped in delight since they were his favorite flower. 

Pulling out his phone he quickly snapped a few pictures and made the best one his new lock screen. His home screen was a picture of all of his friends and both of his brothers together with him in the middle smiling at the camera. It was his most treasured photo of all time. It was the first time that he had gotten all of his precious people into one photo. It had been his home screen ever since it was taken, which was three years ago on his birthday. Luffy didn’t think that he would ever change it.

He took his eyes off of the Sunflowers and looked around again, this time spotting a shed, an outdoor kitchen, a grill, and more shrubbery as well as trees scattered about. Nothing really caught his interest so he decided to go bother Law.

Luffy sat down on the ground next to Law and rested his head on the chair. “Torao, I’m bored.”

Law glanced from his screen to Luffy and chuckled. “Why don’t you go swimming? The pool is heated and I bought some swim trunks for you. They’re in your room.” He took one of his hands off of the keyboard and began petting Luffy’s head.

Luffy scrunched up his face. “I can’t swim.”

Law raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You can’t? Well, I can teach you to swim if you want.”

Luffy scowled. “No, I hate the water. I don’t wanna.”

“I’m sure you’ll like it when we start. Go put on your swim trunks,” Law coaxed.

Shaking his head, Luffy responded with, “No, absolutely not. What about ‘I hate the water’ don’t you understand?”

Law narrowed his eyes at Luffy. And here he thought that Luffy was finally starting to behave. “Sunshine, just listen to me. It’ll be fun I promise.”

Luffy glared at Law, his lips pressed into a thin line. “No! I told you I don’t want to!” Luffy was getting frustrated.

Law growled. “I said I’m teaching you how to swim. Go get ready.”

“Stop trying to force me to do things! I’m not some dog who will obey orders!” Luffy sneered.

“If you would just listen to what I say I wouldn’t have to do these things. You belong to me. You should follow what I say,” Law pressed.

Luffy boiled over in anger. “You always say that I belong to you! I don’t! I’m not an animal and I’m not your pet! I’m a human being!”

Law gripped the tag on Luffy’s collar and pulled him forward. “Sunshine, do you see this collar? You’re mine. There’s no room for argument.”

Luffy smacked Law’s hand away. He opened his mouth ready to scream. The words ‘I HATE YOU’ on the tip of his tongue. Suddenly the back door opened and Shachi and Penguin walked out and called out to Luffy.

“Hey Luffy! We’re playing Monopoly! You wanna join us?” Penguin called over.

Luffy turned to face them and looked back at Law. He got up from where he was sitting and began jogging over to them. “Yeah I do! Anything is better than this!”


	10. Tasting Sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH BOY SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG LMAO BUT WERE BACK INTO THE GROOVE OF WRITING WOO!!! SO EXPECT REGULAR UPDATES FROM NOW ON :DDDD

Law sat down at the kitchen table next to Luffy who was already chowing down. “Good morning, Sunshine.”

Luffy didn’t look at Law, or do anything that indicated that he had heard him. In fact he turned his body slightly away from Law.

Law propped his head on his hand and looked at Luffy and decided to ignore the odd behavior. “Where’s my good morning smile?”

He didn’t get an answer this time either, nor did he get a smile. Luffy simply continued to eat his breakfast, turning away from Law even more.

Law narrowed his eyes at Luffy. “Sunshine, give me a smile.”

Luffy finished his breakfast and got up to put his dishes in the sink. Before he could fully walk away Law spoke again. “Don’t make me threaten your friends again.”

This time Luffy turned around and glared at him. “Get a new threat,” he hissed. And with that he stalked his way back to his room. He wanted to take a nap! 

Law clenched a fist as  _ his  _ Sunshine stomped away in revolt. What the hell was wrong with him? They’d been making progress until the disagreement about swimming. Why would that cause him to suddenly start acting like a spoiled brat?! 

Law couldn't understand that, he’d only wanted his Sunshine to have some fun in the pool. Maybe work off some of his surplus of energy! 

Law huffed out of annoyed breath, stomping out to grab his bag and head to work. He wasn’t going to deal with his Sunshine being irrational! 

“SHACHI! PENGUIN! Sunshine doesn’t go out today! Got it?!” He yelled as he gathered his things. He waited to hear them confirm that they heard him before leaving for the day. 

He’d hopefully calm down by the time he got home. 

* * *

_ “Happy birthday Luffy!” Ace and Sabo cheered as Luffy grinned happily. He’d asked for a pool party for his seventh birthday and he got it!  _

_ Makino, Garp and Dadan were off getting them drinks but no one worried. All three boys were great swimmers!  _

_ “Shishishi! Thanks!” Luffy giggled, feeling happy and full from all the cake and meat he’d eaten.  _

_ “Luffy, you should hold all your balloons for a picture!” Sabo suggested, he wanted to take a nice photo of Luffy so happy on his birthday.  _

_ Ace nodded, thinking it would be a good photo. “Yeah, do it!”  _

_ Luffy frowned, looking at all the balloons he’d gotten. “What if I fly away, though?” Luffy said, a bit skeptical.  _

_ Sabo hummed. “Oh I know!” He dragged over one of the heavy pool chairs to the edge of the pool and then pulled out his shoelaces. “We can tie your foot to the chair, then you won’t fly away!” All three boys smiled, thinking the plan was without flaw. None of them noticed the way the chair wobbled precariously.  _

_ Luffy jumped up onto the chair and giggled as Ace tied a tight knot, attaching him to the chair. Sabo grabbed up the balloons and handed them to Luffy. Both older boys stepped back, Sabo grabbing up the camera he got for his last birthday and began to snap pictures.  _

_ Luffy grinned brightly and posed for his brother, laughing and giggling with them as he threw out funny faces for the camera.  _

_ Luffy’s tiny hands slipped on the threads of the balloons, he gasped as they quickly began to rise out of his grasp.  _

_ Without thought Luffy shot up to try and grab them, his foot catching and rocking the chair back. Luffy couldn’t even scream as he tipped back towards the water.  _

_ “LUFFY!” He heard his brother scream as the water engulfed him.  _

_ “GRAMPS! GRAMPS! HELP!” He caught before he began to sink swiftly, the chair dragging him down, and down.... and down.  _

Luffy shot awake, shaking and sweating violently to the rapid beating of his heart, panting and heaving to dispel phantom water from his lungs. 

Luffy clutched at his chest, trying to calm himself down. 

It had been a long time since he’d had a water nightmare, but it had been even longer since he dreamed of the last time he’d ever gotten into a pool. 

Before that day he’d been a great swimmer... after it was like the skill had been erased from his mind. Even bathing had caused him to panic and feel helpless after that. 

It had probably been triggered by Law trying to get him into the pool. He’d begun to panic that the man might force him into the pool, and with what else he’d experienced so far, he could see the guy just throwing him in! 

Luffy shook his head to clear out the dark thoughts and began searching through his blankets to find his phone. Maybe he’d call Zoro or something. 

He found his phone in the sheets down by his feet and turned it on. He sighed sadly as he watched the black screen light up. He missed his house, where he could relax and be free. 

He began to type in his password when a notification made his phone beep. Luffy opened it and his heartbeat began to pick up again. 

_ ‘You left the ace from your card deck at the hospital, don’t worry, I had it moved for you.’  _

Ace was moved... Ace was out from under Law’s thumb... 

Luffy grinned. It was finally time to fight back. 

* * *

Luffy peeked around the living room corner to see if Shachi and Penguin were there. To his fortune, they were sitting on the couch playing video games. Luffy suppressed his glee. He walked over to one of the armchairs and sat down. It was time to set his plan into motion.

“Hey guys, I have a question,” he said carefully.

Shachi glanced at him for a second before his eyes darted back towards the screen. “You can’t go out today. Law’s orders, sorry.”

Luffy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “That’s not what I was going to ask.”

“Oh? Then what was it?” Penguin responded back.

“Well, actually I was wondering if you guys were up to teach me how to swim?” Luffy smiled at them.

Shachi’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What happened to not wanting to go into the pool?”

Luffy looked away and hid his face. “Well about that… I was just shy because I didn’t want Law to see me bumbling around. It would’ve been really embarrassing!”

This caught the duo’s attention. They paused their game and grinned at each other, thinking that Luffy was hiding his face because he was blushing. 

“That doesn’t seem like something Law would care about.” Penguin shook his head.

Luffy looked back at them and gave his signature smile. “Well it’s something I care about… so you guys should teach me so I can surprise him when he gets back!” 

Penguin glanced at Shachi. “What do ya say? Maybe we should help him.”

Shachi nodded. “You’re absolutely right Peng, we should help the poor boy out.”

Luffy couldn’t contain his excitement. “Really?! Great! Let’s all go get changed then!”

Penguin and Shachi both got up from their places on the couch and headed to their rooms to get changed. 

“Be back faster than you can say Polar Tang!” Shachi yelled from over his shoulder.

As soon as Luffy heard their doors shut he immediately went to the backyard where the pool was. Luffy pulled off Law’s insulting collar and tossed it into the pool. Glancing around to make sure that nobody was around he ran over to one of the walls that protected the area. He stepped back enough to give himself a running start and jumped up, latching onto the top of the wall before pulling himself to sit on top of it.

“See ya later, psychos,” he mumbled under his breath before jumping off on the other side of the wall and ran towards the direction of his house. 

He knew he had to run through basically the entire city to get back to his home but damn right, it was worth it if it meant getting away from Law!

* * *

Shachi and Penguin sat at the pool's edge, their feet hanging in the water as it slowly dawned on them that Luffy couldn’t possibly still be changing. 

Shachi kept his gaze down, looking at his hands that he’d begun to wring together as the realization set in. 

“Hey Peng?” Shachi said softly. 

“Yeah?” Penguin said, eyes glued to the bright blue sky, the color mocking their growing horror. He glanced down at the black ribbon and heart tag that had sunk to the bottom of the pool, it had taken longer than it should have to notice the abandoned ‘collar’. 

“We’re in deep shit,” Shachi stated, a cold wind blowing around them. 

“Yup, he tricked us good,” Penguin agreed. Both continued to sit, hoping the other would get up to call up Law and tell him the news. 

* * *

Law browsed through a few spreadsheets and looked over reports with an annoyed crinkle in his brow. 

What happened that morning was still bothering him. Luffy might be getting too big for his britches. Law needed to figure out a punishment that fit the crime of disobeying him. 

Law figured if the threat against his friends wasn’t working then he should remind the boy he literally held his brother's lifeline. 

Law pulled up his patient logs for the hospital and typed in Ace’s name. Law froze as he opened the file and it read three ominous words ‘family transfer approved’. 

Immediately after he saw those words his phone began to ring.  _ Well shit.  _

* * *

Luffy ran up the pathway to his house and couldn’t help but start laughing. Finally! He was home free! No more worrying about Law and whatever the fuck that psycho wanted from him! His heart was pumping in his chest with excitement and the grin on his face stretched so wide that it hurt his cheeks. 

His house was finally coming into view and Luffy swore he could have started crying from happiness right then and there.

As he came closer to his house he slowed down and quickly his dream became his worst nightmare. Law was sitting on the steps up to his house looking right at him. The smile immediately dropped from his face and his stomach twisted up in knots. Part of him wanted to turn around and start running back to where he had come from, but he knew it was useless.

Luffy hung his head in sadness as he forced his feet to continue moving him forward. He fixed the straw hat on his head so that it was blocking his face from view. He chewed on his lip and wondered what he could have ever done to deserve such a punishment from the world.

Finally, he was standing in front of Law, his head bowed and looking at his feet.

Law sighed. “Sunshine, you have to know how upset I am that you ran away from home. But I get it, you’re having a hard time adjusting to everything. That doesn’t mean you had the right to run away. What if someone else had gotten to you? You’re not even wearing your collar, no one would be able to know that you’re mine.”

Luffy ground his teeth and tears of anger and frustration welled up in his eyes. He wanted to scream at Law and tell him off. He wanted to curse Law out and tell him how mad the whole speech had made him, but he knew that now wasn’t the time. If anything it would make the situation worse, so instead he opted to screw his eyes shut and count to ten in his head.

He was clenching his fists so hard that his nails bit through skin and now his palms were slightly bleeding. The pain helped distract him from his boiling rage. Luffy refused to look Law in the face. He was afraid if he did then he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back from doing something he would regret.

Law stood up and pulled Luffy into a hug, taking off his straw hat and running a hand through his wind swept hair. “It’s okay, Sunshine, I’m not mad. I’m just a little upset. I was very worried about you, y’know. You could have gotten lost.” Stepping away from the hug Law pulled out yet another collar from his pocket. “Shachi and Peng told me about the collar in the pool so I brought you another one.”

Luffy refused to give Law any sort of reaction. The more that he talked, the angrier that Luffy got. He had to resort to deep breathing exercises to keep his rage in check. 

Law looped the collar around Luffy’s neck and secured it. He then grabbed Luffy’s hand and led him to the car, opening the door for him. Luffy got in without a word, his head still bowed and his fists still clenched. Law got in the driver’s side and they began their journey home.

* * *

As soon as they got back Luffy stormed to his room and slammed the door shut. He fell face first down into his pillow and let out everything that he had been bottling up since Law had first opened his mouth. By the time he was done he was exhausted and emotionally drained.

Luffy shot up after a while of laying down and crossed his legs as he sat. He couldn’t give up now! There would be a lot more chances in the future to escape. Especially now that Law didn’t have his brother’s life in the palm of his hand. 

He grinned and rubbed his hands together, almost letting out a maniacal laugh. It was time to begin forming more escape plans.

* * *

Law was beginning to feel... frustrated. 

All the books said that when adopting a feral animal he had to have patience but there was a limit! 

It had been two weeks and Law had gone through thirty two collars and made numerous security updates. All because Luffy had turned out to be one hell of an escape artist. 

It started with him jumping over the wall, so Law had the top lined it with barbed wire. Then there was the night he’d climbed down the tree outside his window. Law had caught him before he escaped the property that night, and the next morning the tree was gone. 

After that Luffy had used the window frame to crawl up onto the roof. He’d hid up there for a few hours and snuck out when everyone left the property to look for him. After that Law had put bars over the windows and locked the balcony; just until Luffy stopped running away. 

Then the day he hid in a cleaning cart, forcing Law to have someone check the carts before leaving the property every cleaning day. 

And between each escape and escape attempt Luffy was being stubborn and refused to even talk to him! He rarely left his room unless it was to go to work, or escape. 

Speaking of his work, if he ran out the back even one more time Law was going to take away his working privilege. 

His attempts were getting pretty ridiculous as well, Luffy had his head caught in a vent for an hour because he’d been trying to crawl around in one. Did he think he was in a spy movie?! 

Law rubbed his temples, trying to calm his growing anger. What was it going to take to get Luffy to understand _this_ is his home now?! 

Law didn’t get much time to think before the motion detector in the backyard was alerting him to someone moving around back there. Law switched on the camera and gasped at what he saw. 

That  _ idiot _ was trying to climb the wall with only a jacket laid over the wire to keep him from getting cut up! 

Law shoved his chair back and ran out of his office, sprinting through the mansion and towards the backyard. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Luffy bit the inside of his cheek as the barbed wire cut his arms, but the jacket at least kept it from gouging him entirely. 

Luffy kicked his feet, trying to get a foothold. This has been easier the first time, back when the wall didn’t have two feet of barbed wire hanging over the wall. 

“Hey!” Luffy yelped when he heard Law shout, he looked back over his shoulder to see Law running at him full speed. 

“Shit!” Luffy yelled as he slipped, his cheek and hands getting scratched up as he landed heavily on the grass. 

“Sunshine!” Law roared and Luffy could see the gang boss had officially snapped. He gulped in fear and shot up, running away from Law. 

Luffy ducked and dodged as Law tried to grab him, both going as fast as they could in circles around the backyard. Luffy verged sharply to the left towards the pool. 

Luffy yelled again as Law jumped at him, grabbing his shirt and causing them both to trip and roll. 

Luffy shut his eyes only for them to fly open as they both tumbled into the pool. 

_ Water engulfed him, strangling his scream for help, the chair dragging him into the deep end of the pool.  _

_ Air bubbles escaped his mouth as he sank deeper, and darkness began to tinge his eyesight.  _

_ Is this how I’m going to die?  _

Law stood up from the pool, wiping water from his face as he growled and looked around for Luffy. His eyes widened when he saw Luffy was flailing his arms and legs in clear panic. He could just stand up! Why the hell was he panicking?! 

Law dived back down, grabbing Luffy by the armpits and dragging him up to the surface. 

Luffy gasped for air desperately, clinging to Law and trying to climb him to get out of the water. 

“Sunshine! Damnit—“ Luffy’s hand smacked him in the face as he panicked. “Calm down!” Law grabbed his wrists, forcing him to still. 

Two large cinnamon brown eyes, pupils blown wide, and a misting of tears making them seem bigger, snapped up to look at Law in desperation. 

The lights of the pool were shimmering over the disturbed water, creating a kaleidoscope of color dancing around them. Luffy was lit up, his wet hair looking darker, and his tan skin smooth and supple. 

The quick rise and fall of his chest reminded Law of a scared rabbit and it made him all the cuter. With the light of the pool behind them it bathed Luffy in an ethereal glow and he could have sworn he was looking at an angel.

Water dripped from his skin and a droplet hung from his pouty bottom lip. Law had a mind to lick it away. He looked deliciously innocent, and alluring. 

Luffy seemed oh so small in comparison to Law and he couldn’t help himself from relishing in that fact. Luffy slotted perfectly into his own body, like he was made for him.

He was... a very attractive boy. 

Law couldn't stop himself as he pulled Luffy forward forcefully, bending down to lick those delectable lips. 

_ It is delicious!  _

Law pushed his tongue forward, diving into Luffy’s hot mouth and drinking him in. 

He pressed their lips together, ignoring the way Luffy went stiff as a board. He released Luffy’s left hand to wrap an arm around him and hold him by the back of the neck. Manually he tipped Luffy’s head back further and deepened the kiss, exploring the depths of Luffy’s mouth. 

Law only pulled away when his breath ran out, if he could he would have never stopped. Curse his lungs' need for air! 

Luffy looked up at him in shock, his breath coming out even faster. 

Luffy’s wide eyes slowly narrowed as he processed what had just happened. Luffy snarled, his left hand whipping back and smacking Law across the face. 

The water made it sound louder than it was and for a moment they just stood frozen in the pool, listening to the echo rattle their ears. 

Law released Luffy’s other wrist to touch his red cheek, he chuckled darkly, trying to decide what to do with this  _ very new  _ information he had. 

“Come,” Law said firmly, grabbing Luffy’s upper arm and pulling him towards the pool stairs 

Luffy struggled against him, panicking over something Law couldn’t fathom. The teenager couldn't do much against Law's strong hold, the man didn’t even stagger as Luffy fought him. 

“No! Stop!” Luffy yelled, thinking Law was finally doing what he’d feared the man wanted him for in the beginning. That kiss hadn’t set his mind at ease at all! 

Law rolled his eyes and pulled the boy through the mansion door, and into the kitchen. Law didn’t slow down as he grabbed Luffy by the waist and planted him on the counter. “We need to clean those cuts, and tomorrow you’re getting a tetanus shot,” Law told him firmly. 

Luffy paused, relief flooding his chest. He didn’t give Law a verbal answer, just nodded his head.

Law got out the first aid kit from one of the drawers in the kitchen and got to work disinfecting Luffy’s wounds, settling himself between Luffy’s legs. Luffy flushed slightly from the position but refused to say anything. 

“Honestly what were you thinking trying to climb over the barbed wire? Do you think you’re invincible? Do you think you’re made of steel?” Law glared as he wiped down all the cuts on Luffy’s arms.

“Are these all of the cuts? For fuck sake you have no idea how much I worry about you. Take off your shirt. I need to make sure there aren’t any more.” Law sighed.

Luffy scooted back on the counter and away from Law, hugging himself. “No!”

“Sunshine, I’m not in the mood to put up with your attitude. You’re either going to take it off or I’m going to cut it off,” Law growled. Even with his revelation he was still beyond furious that Luffy would pull a stunt like that and get himself hurt.

Luffy chewed on his lip and thought his options over. The end result would be the same anyway. What was the use of wasting his energy and fighting against Law? Sighing, he lifted his shirt over his head and set it down next to him.

Law clicked his tongue as he glanced at the fresh cuts across the teen’s torso. He opened another packet of wipes and began working on the ones that were bleeding still first. If his hands lingered too long then that wasn’t anyone’s business but his own. He had to fix up his precious Sunshine first before appreciating the view.

After he was done attending to Luffy’s wounds he pulled out a pack of bandages that varied in size. Surprisingly they were printed with cute cartoon polar bears. Luffy tilted his head in confusion at how cute they were compared to the person who owned them. And he was even more surprised with how gently Law was taking care of him. He never pressed too hard and made sure to soothe him if he so much as flinched.

As Law put the last bandage onto Luffy he ran a hand through his wet hair and sighed. He walked away from Luffy and towards one of the closets in the hallway. Pulling out a fluffy towel he made his way back towards Luffy and draped the towel over his head. 

Luffy scowled as Law began drying him off, but couldn’t help the slight flush of his cheeks as he saw the genuine fondness in Law’s eyes. It made his stomach do a flip but he reminded himself that Law only thought of him as a pet and this action just reinforced it. Law was drying him off like someone would their dog.

“Sunshine, we need to talk about what you did.” Law rested his hands on Luffy’s hips.

“What I did?! Of course I would try to run from the creep who kidnapped me! Why wouldn’t I try to run away?!” Luffy shouted at him.

Law narrowed his eyes and his grip on Luffy tightened. “What exactly is so bad about your life here? You’re clothed, you’re fed, you have everything you could ever want if you just ask for it. Why don’t you like your new home?”

Luffy clenched his fists. “You wanna know why? It’s because I’m not some animal or pet that you can just rehome! You can’t just pick me up from where I was and force me to be here! I had a life! I’m a person, a human being! Why can’t you understand that?!”

“I can do this because you don’t know what’s best for you. I have to take care of you.” Law furrowed his brows.

That was the last straw. Luffy was not going to put up with any more of Law’s shit. He shoved Law away from him, hopped off the counter, and stormed to his room.

Law pinched the bridge of his nose in  _ frustration,  _ decidingly letting Luffy stomp away. 

“Don’t forget to take a shower or you’ll get a cold!” Law called from behind him.

Luffy almost wanted to go to bed drenched like he was and get sick just out of spite. But after deciding that it wasn’t worth the feeling of being sick he went to go take a shower.

* * *

  
  


Nami went over her mental checklist of things she needed to break into the Trafalgar estate. She had her flashlight, she memorized the blueprints of the mansion, zip ties, lock pick kit, pliers, wire cutters, rope, glass cutter, and a spare backpack for everything she was going to steal.

Glancing at herself in the mirror she stuffed any stray strands of orange into her black beanie. Her long sleeved turtleneck was the same pitch black as her cargo pants and combat boots. Slipping on her leather gloves she was ready to head out.

Arriving at the mansion she glared at all of the new security measures that delayed her an entire two weeks. Did he know she was going to break in or what? What was with all of the sudden security upgrades? 

Nami went around the backyard and flung the rope up onto the wall. She climbed up and stopped at the barbed wire. Cutting the piece of wire that connected it to the wall she lifted it up as gently as she could before securing it with zip ties so she could slide under. 

Smirking to herself she landed quietly in the backyard and went around the wall, making sure not to trigger the motion detectors. She snuck her way past and made it to the back door. Pulling out her lock picking tools she quickly got to work on the door, thankfully it was a relatively simple lock so she had little to no trouble with opening it.

Containing her glee she opened the door just enough so that she could slip in and shut it after she was fully inside. Nami locked the door once again and looked around the dark room. Recalling the blueprints from her memory she made her way over to Trafalgar’s office, where she knew a safe was hiding.

Once she got there she glanced around the hallway to make sure no one was up and about before closing the door behind her. Turning her flashlight on she scoped the room out for the safe she was looking for. 

She found it behind a large painting of a polar bear. Nami rolled her eyes. What was with criminals and hiding their safes behind paintings? Could they get any more cliche? What was this, a James Bond movie?

Swinging the painting back she looked carefully at the safe. She was about to try cracking the code when the door opening behind her made her freeze.

“Robbing my uncle first was a bad idea. We learned all about how you work.” 

Nami’s blood ran cold as she turned around to be met face to face with the one and only Trafalgar Law.


	11. Sunshine’s New Rules

Luffy woke up the next morning in a terrible mood, and mostly he was just pissed off at himself! 

What kind of person spends a whole night thinking and dreaming about a forced kiss?! Was he fucked up in the head? 

No, it was Law’s fault! If only he wasn’t so handsome! Luffy bitterly began to punch his pillow, mumbling about wanting to punch Law in his stupid handsome face. 

Luffy couldn’t help having liked the kiss, Law had been really good at it, but he wasn’t sorry for the slap. Not at all! Law deserved that! 

Luffy let his head hang, trying to understand what was happening to him. This guy had committed the ultimate sin, he’d threatened Luffy’s family and friends, and stolen Luffy’s freedom. 

And yet he could be really kind and caring. Like circumventing his anger to care for Luffy’s scratches and wounds, or noticing Luffy hated alcohol and making sure he didn’t have to drink it at the bar. 

He actually had fun talking to Law when he wasn’t being an asshole, and there were moments where he honestly forgot Law was keeping him here against his will. 

But then there were moments like that dinner with Doflamingo and Bepo, where Law treated him like an animal, like all Luffy was to him was some pet! 

Luffy wasn’t going to allow himself to be treated like some feral cat! 

No matter how nice that kiss had been, no matter how much he liked Law as a person, Luffy was going to escape! He would not be chained down! He would be free! 

Luffy gave his pillow one last punch, before jumping out of bed to get ready for breakfast. 

He had another escape to plan! 

  
  
  


Law looked down at Nami. She was glaring at him as hard as she could, and struggling against her restraints. He sighed, thinking about how useless her actions were. He was also almost certain that she was cursing him out, but he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure because she was gagged.

He tapped his foot and thought about what to do with her. Law smirked to himself as he realized the opportunity this brought him. He could use her as leverage to make Luffy stay with him. Nami seemed to be able to sense his malicious intent and doubled her efforts in trying to escape, but he paid her no mind. 

Law clutched the dog tags that always hung around his neck as a reminder and closed his eyes as he brought his closed fist up to his face. He would never let his sunshine slip from his life twice. He couldn’t do it. He would do absolutely anything to keep the light in his life from fading a second time. He wasn’t even sure if he could handle it if it happened again. 

Dropping the dog tags he turned to look at the stairs when he heard someone coming down. Ah, his sunshine finally decided to come out it seemed. Law could already feel the warmth peeking through the gray clouds in his mind. 

He watched as Luffy fully came into view and smiled as he watched the teen’s eyes widen while taking in the situation of the room.

“Hello, Sunshine.”

Luffy seemed to stumble, his knees weakening from the horror that he saw before him. “Na-Nami...?” He whispered, hesitating for only a moment before rushing down the stairs. “NAMI!” 

Nami seemed to have stopped breathing, her eyes large and fearful as she struggled to reach out to one of her best friends. 

Law snapped his fingers and Penguin stepped forward to grab Luffy, stopping him from getting to Nami at the base of the stairs. 

“Torao! What the hell?! Let her go! Why would you bring her here?!” Luffy screamed, fighting to get out of Penguins hold, but Penguin held him steady despite it. “She has nothing to do with this!” 

Law leveled Luffy with a blank look, walking up behind Nami and placing his hands on her shoulders. She was trembling, Law smirked at that. 

“You are misinterpreting the situation, Sunshine. You see, she came here, tried to rob me actually. You should know normally I would have killed her on the spot, I’m being nice by letting you say goodbye,” Law’s felt his smirk twist into something cruel as Nami began to shake more and Luffy gave him a desperate look. 

“No! Please don’t!” Luffy screamed, reaching for Nami like a lifeline. Tears ran down his cheeks and he couldn’t help sobbing softly before falling limp in Penguin’s arms. “N—Nami, I -I told you, I to-told you! Don’t come here! Why di-didn't you listen?” He cried softly. “You promised!” 

Nami was shaking, curling forward and sobbing through her gag. 

Law rolled his eyes at their dramatic actions. 

“Sunshine,” Law called to the sobbing boy, shoving down the part of him that wanted to just hold him and make him feel better. He had to be tough now, to make sure Luffy stopped this running away nonsense. Luffy looked up at him, his eyes heavy with tears and pleading. “Should I kill her? It would be easy, you know.” 

“No!” Luffy began to struggle again, but Penguin kept his arms pinned behind his back. “Torao! Pl—please!” 

Law chuckled, walking around Nami to approach Luffy, taking his chin and forcing his eyes up to only focus on him. 

“Then, do you want me to let her go?” Law asked him, his eyes still hard and waiting. 

Luffy nodded as much as he could with Law holding his chin. “Y-yes! Please don’t hurt her!” Luffy begged. “She’s my friend, she’s precious!” 

Law smirked, knowing he had Luffy right in the palm of his hand. Luffy’s devotion to his friends and family was just too easy to take advantage of. 

“Well then if that’s what you want, from today on you will have to promise me something,” Law whispered to him, pulling Luffy closer until their lips were almost touching. “We are together Luffy, understand me?” Law asked, moving his thumb to suggestively swipe the digit over Luffy’s bottom lip. 

Luffy’s eyes grew even wider, his tears flowing faster. His breath stuttered as Law pulled Luffy from Penguin’s arms, pressing them close together. 

“Y-you want me to... with you...?” Luffy asked, his lips trembling. 

Law gave a dark chuckle, finding that Luffy was cute even when afraid. But still, Law didn’t like that Luffy thought he would even force him completely. 

“Oh Sunshine, don’t be so afraid. I can see you’re hesitant and shy still. I won’t force anything on you. But you are  _ mine,  _ and when you finally come to your senses I will take more of what I tasted in the pool, got it?” Law growled, tightening his hold on Luffy to make sure he understood that this would be his life now. 

Luffy shuddered a sob, burying his head in Law’s chest. He made his choice, his love and freedom for the girl’s freedom. 

“Shachi, have Jean Bart escort Ms. Nami back to her home,” Law ordered his men, barely sparing the struggling, manic girl any thought. 

He then gathered a sniffling Luffy into his arms and carried him bridal style towards the kitchen. Law set Luffy down to sit on one of the chairs at the breakfast nook and pulled out an abundance of ingredients to prepare a big breakfast for him. “Let’s get you some breakfast, Sunshine.”

Luffy wiped the tears from his eyes and stared blankly at Law. He was completely void of emotion, not knowing how to react to the sudden shift. How does someone even react to a person almost killing one of your closest friends and having that same person start making you breakfast right after?

Law started cooking eggs first and glanced at Luffy over his shoulder. “It’s okay, Sunshine. I know you’re not up for talking. You don’t have to. You had a… hard morning,” he said gently.

Luffy frowned and put his head down on the table. ‘Yeah, no shit I had a hard morning… fucking asshole,’ he thought to himself. He would have voiced this out loud but Nami was still far too close for comfort, so he stayed silent. Even if he wanted desperately to tell Law off.

“I’ll have to plan a first date for us… I wonder what we should do?” Law began talking to himself and Luffy settled on trying to burn a hole in the back of his head by glaring as hard as he could.

Unfortunately Law didn’t seem to notice, or if he did he didn’t care. “Oh I know, it would be nice to go on a movie date.” 

Law clicked his tongue. “It has to be at home though. I fucking hate public theatres, so dirty and crowded.”

He continued to talk to himself as he prepared Luffy’s breakfast, the whole time ignoring Luffy’s glare. By the end he had set down a plate of bacon and eggs, a stack of pancakes and waffles, a few pieces of french toast, grilled sausages, a tall glass of orange juice, and another one of milk.

Luffy tried his best not to salivate at the food before him, he was still angry at Law. But food was food! How could he not eat all of it? That would be such a waste! Such thoughts could bring tears to his eyes.

Before he could reach out and start eating Law picked him up off of the chair he was sitting on and settled Luffy in his lap as he took the seat for himself. Law wrapped his left arm around Luffy’s waist and used the other to bring the pancakes close to them before resting his head on Luffy’s shoulder. Cutting the pancakes into pieces he picked a few up on a fork and held it up to Luffy’s mouth.

Luffy fought a blush down as he squirmed in Law’s lap. “Do you really have to do this?” He refused to look at Law, instead opting to turn his face away from the older man to hide his blush.

Law chuckled and pressed a kiss to Luffy’s neck, causing the teen’s breath to hitch. “I don’t have to but I certainly want to. Now be a good boy and eat your breakfast.”

His words caused Luffy’s face to flame even more, but he steeled himself. He knew he had to go along with what Law said for now. Sending Law a small glare he ate the pieces of pancake that were offered to him, trying his best not to be affected by Law. 

Law continued to hand feed Luffy the entire breakfast he prepared, occasionally wiping away crumbs and food stuff from Luffy’s cheeks. He even dared to lick away a bit of syrup at the corner of Luffy’s mouth, finding it entirely adorable when Luffy turned into a tomato and tried not to yell at him. 

  
  
  


Once Nami had been dropped back off to her house she waited for her  _ escorts _ to leave before heading towards Luffy’s house. She had dealt with gangs before and she had to make sure to be as careful as possible now that she knew about Luffy’s situation. No one could be too cautious. 

Calling up Sanji, she told him to come pick her up and take her to Luffy’s house. Of course Sanji agreed, even if it was such short notice. While he was gushing about her she distinctly heard Zoro in the background telling him to ‘Shut the fuck up.’ Nami couldn’t help but laugh a bit when Sanji started yelling back before apologizing to her and hanging up.

When she hung up her face fell again, pained by what she had inadvertently discovered. 

Sanji arrived to pick her up in fifteen minutes with Zoro tagging along.

She didn’t question his presence but he still defended himself, saying “You’re a witch and can’t be trusted, so I’m here to make sure you don’t swindle Curly out of all our money.” 

Nami rolled her eyes at him in response.

They arrived shortly at Luffy’s house and she slipped the spare key from under the doormat before unlocking the door and walking inside. Nami had told them they were going to collect Luffy’s things and move them to her house.

Sanji and Zoro of course questioned her but she waved them off, telling them: “just trust me.” She couldn’t exactly tell them, they would try to storm that gangbangers mansion. And that would just make it all worse! 

Between the three of them it took about twenty minutes to gather up all of Luffy’s precious things and get them into the car. Nami did one last sweep of the house to make sure that nothing was forgotten and then got in the car so they could drive back to her house. 

She had Zoro and Sanji help move Luffy’s things into the spare bedroom before she let them off the hook. Nami showed them out the door, waving as they got back into their car. “Thanks for the free labor, boys!” She winked at them, causing Sanji to swoon and Zoro to groan.

“Anything for you, Nami-swan!” Sanji yelled as he waved back at her.

Zoro sent her a small wave. “Whatever, Witch, see you later.”

Nami shut the door and her face darkened with her turbulent emotions. 

Luffy was in a terrible situation, and it would be dangerous to act rashly now. Especially with that bastard using all of them against Luffy. First things first, Nami had some questions and concerns to bring up to Makino. 

  
  
  
  


Makino’s eyes were wide and tearful as the end of Nami’s story. 

“I... I knew some of it... but he’s really forcing Luffy to be...?” She cried, not able to even say it. 

“Some kind of fucked up boyfriend, yeah,” Nami confirmed. Her hands trembled faster remembering the encounter. 

Makino looked up, her eyes hardening. “That’s it!” She yelled. “Luffy asked me to let him handle this but this is the very last straw!” She stood, her hands clenched tight. 

“What are you going to do?” Nami asked, standing as well, wanting to help. 

“I’m calling Sabo!” 

  
  
  
  


Luffy stayed holed up in his room for hours after breakfast, not deigning to leave. He didn’t know what to do with all his rage and helplessness now. 

He screamed into his pillow, punched the wall, and kicked around all the knickknacks Law had filled his gilded cage with. 

What had happened this morning had been a wake up call. Penguin and Shachi were not his friends, they’d hold him back while Law killed his friends if that’s what they’d been ordered to do. And Law wasn’t someone worth anything. 

That had been... too cruel. 

And yet Luffy hadn’t hated being in his lap even after all of that. Damn him and his mind, why couldn’t he hate everything about that bastard?! Why did he have to be so gentle and kind, even while wrapping him up in chains?!

Luffy sighed, sitting by his closed off balcony. Law had bared it shut after one of his escape attempts. The point of it was moot now, like hell Luffy would try now. Not after being reminded of how willing Law was to harm others. 

He couldn’t believe that he’d forgotten that. 

A knock on the door made Luffy look over to it. 

“Come in, or whatever,” Luffy called. 

The door opened and Shachi poked his head in. “Boss wants you downstairs,” he announced, looking at Luffy with uncertainty. Who could blame him when Luffy’s face showed only disinterest and mild hatred when it once was filled with warmth. 

“Fine,” Luffy growled, standing up to leave the room. 

He wasn’t going to fight an order, it was becoming very clear Law held him by the neck. He couldn’t even make an argument about the man not owning him anymore. 

Shachi moved away from the door as Luffy stomped out, moving down the stairs. He wondered what Law had planned next? Maybe holding a gun to Chopper’s head, or any other terrible way to force his compliance. 

Luffy looked around as he got to the bottom of the stairs but didn’t see Law anywhere. He glanced around a bit more but the man didn’t pop out to harass him. 

“Sunshine? Is that you? Come into the viewing room, please,” Law called from the room Shachi and Penguin were normally playing video games in. 

Luffy huffed and moved toward the room. It had such a stupid name, who called a TV room a viewing room?  _ Stupid Torao and his stupid way of naming things!  _

Luffy froze when he entered the room, his eyes widening as he saw a verified wonderland laid out before him. 

Popcorn of different kinds were set up on the table. Chocolate covered, caramel, and movie theater butter! Between them was any kind of candy Luffy could ever want. Bottles of chilled soda and cups were set out as well. 

“What?” Luffy asked, extremely confused about what was happening. 

Law smirked, standing up from where he sat on the couch. “Didn't I say we were going to have a movie date?” He asked. “Now come over here and pick out a movie, I didn’t know what you liked so I got a couple from a few different genres. 

Luffy’s eyes narrowed as he was reminded that he had no choice in this. He walked over and looked over the collection of movies and he immediately grabbed up the copy of the Transformers Bumblebee movie. He hadn’t been able to see it! 

“Oh! Can we watch this?!” Luffy asked, growing excited for a moment before trying to rein it back in. His natural sunny personality was working against him in this situation. 

Law smiled at Luffy’s excitement and chuckled. “Of course we can,” Law told him as he took the DVD case and walked over to the player. He had wanted an authentic feel and had forgone streaming despite the smart TV having that capability. 

Law got the movie set up and moved back to the couch, grabbing Luffy’s arm and pulling him down with him. 

Luffy squealed as he was pulled down into Law’s lap. He panicked slightly as Law’s hand held him firmly down. 

“What?! B-but why?!” Luffy stuttered out, trying to get out of his lap. 

“This is the best view of the TV, we can share,” Law smirked, wrapping his arm fully around Luffy’s waist and pulling him flush against him. 

Luffy blushed but already knew he didn’t have room to complain. Not after that morning... 

The movie started but Luffy couldn’t focus on it. Instead all he could focus on was Law fingers of one hand playing with the edge of his shirt. The others running figure eights around his inner thigh. 

“Tora-Torao...” Luffy gulped, his face steadily turning red. 

“Yes, Sunshine?” Law chuckled as he watched his cute  _ boyfriend _ squirm. 

“You’re... hands,” Luffy gasped as Law curled his fingers under his shorts for just a moment, the physical contact making his skin shiver pleasantly. Luffy couldn’t help loving the contact, and hating it just by virtue of the situation. 

“Yes?” Law dipped his head down, peppering his neck with sweet, soft kisses. Law smirked as he nuzzled their heads together before raising his head to nip at Luffy’s ear. Luffy flinched, turning his head away. “Just say the word, Sunshine, and I’ll touch you more.” Luffy’s face flamed red. 

Luffy squirmed even more, stuttering out a lie that he hated it so why would he want more?! 

Law just chuckled at him, continuing to play with the prey in his lap. 

“Do you want me to touch you...” Law ghosted a hand over the front of Luffy’s pants, barely feeling his growing hard on. “Here?” 

Luffy gasped, jolting violently in his hold. “NO!” Luffy cried, not liking how good that had felt, he should hate this! “Stop!” 

Luffy squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the older man to just rip his clothes off now, ignoring what he wanted. Instead... Law's hands fell away, no longer pinning him down. 

Luffy blinked, looking over his shoulder in confusion. “Y-you stopped?”

Law smirked sadistically, raising an amused brow at the cute, red faced boy. “Shh, Sunshine, I’m watching the movie.”

  
  
  


By the end of the film Law had allowed Luffy to move from his lap over to his side, an inked arm wrapped around the teen’s shoulders. Luffy could barely stop himself from snuggling into Law’s warmth. Fuck him for being a human heater! Who does this bastard think he is?

Once the credits started rolling Luffy let out a loud yawn. Today had been taxing on him and he just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. He got in two steps towards his room when he felt his feet get swept out from under him. He let out a yell as suddenly he was being picked up by Law and walked towards Law’s bedroom.

“Wha-what the hell?!” Luffy clutched at Law’s shirt as he tried to calm his racing heart. They passed by Luffy’s room and Law opened the door to his own, walking them both inside. “Wait a minute! Put me down! I’m going to my room!”

Law chuckled and placed a kiss to Luffy’s forehead. “Oh no, Sunshine. Now that we’re dating we get to sleep in the same room.” He smirked down at Luffy. “In the same bed.”

He gently set Luffy down on the plush mattress and walked into his closet. Luffy’s eyes widened as his heart picked up and started  _ hammering _ inside of his chest. Oh God, oh fuck. This was it. It was gunna fucking happen. He clasped his hands together and prayed to whoever the fuck would listen that Law was going to be gentle.

When Law came back out of the closet he had discarded his shirt and changed into sweats. Luffy’s eyes traced the black lines on the man’s chest and he felt the urge to touch the ink. He snapped out of his thoughts when Law approached the bed and caged the teen under his body.

Luffy started sweating. He wasn’t ready! He absolutely wasn’t fucking ready! He held his arms close to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut.

Law almost laughed at him. His breathing was about as fast as a scared rabbit. Luffy looked absolutely adorable, so he decided to tease him a little. He leaned down to Luffy’s ear and whispered: “Are you ready, Sunshine?” before he nipped it.

Luffy’s face immediately flamed up and he refused to make a noise or open his eyes. Jesus Christ this was the day he said goodbye to his innocence. Good night, sweet prince. 

Law rolled to the side and fell onto the sheets, wrapping his arm around Luffy while burying his face into his neck. He closed his eyes and evened out his breathing, fully intending to go to sleep.

Luffy’s eyes snapped open as he felt the mattress dip next to him. He scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion as his eyes darted to Law’s sleeping form and then around the room. What? Is he not going to do anything? Luffy was genuinely bewildered. He thought that now was the time. But then Law was next to him seemingly sound asleep?

Luffy relaxed his arms and stared at the ceiling, occasionally glancing at Law. He wasn’t about to let his guard down in case this was some ruse. 

Law seemed to notice that Luffy wouldn’t relax. “Go to sleep, Sunshine.” He pulled Luffy closer and spooned him.

God bless Luffy, in his head he was trying his best not to be affected. It seemed like Law truly didn’t plan to do anything. But at the same time how the fuck could he sleep when pressed up against the other man. Did this bastard seriously think Luffy could sleep like this?

Well he was absolutely correct because Luffy had gotten sleepy and clocked out only an hour into his resolution to stay awake.


	12. Dimming Sunshine and Sunflower Slaps

Luffy cracked his eyes open a little, not processing anything. He snuggled further into the warmth in front of him and closed his eyes again, fully intending to go back to sleep. He felt hands running up and down his sides and he let out a small sigh from how good it felt.

Wait what?

Luffy’s eyes shot open and he was met with black ink on top of tan skin. His head whipped up to look at Law and he was met with golden eyes that were swirling with mischievousness. Oh for fuck sake. How did he just fall asleep like he was safe in his own room?! He was right in the jaws of the beast!

He could feel his face flushing when he realized how close they were, immediately trying to scoot away from Law. The older man, however, refused to let him go anywhere and trapped Luffy in his arms.

Law buried his face into Luffy’s neck and smirked, pressing a light kiss into the teen’s skin. “Where do you think you’re going, Sunshine?”

Luffy was as stiff as a board, his heart racing in his chest. He couldn’t even give Law an answer.

“I hope you’re ready for what I have planned this morning. I think you’ll really like it,” Law whispered into his ear and nipped it gently.

Fucking, shit, this was it. It was happening. He was right to not let his guard down. Law was going to take him now and there wasn’t anything he could do about it! Luffy was starting to sweat as he got more and more nervous, his heartbeat going a mile a minute.

Law chuckled at his scared expression. He got up from the bed and headed over to the closet, disappearing inside. Luffy closed his eyes and tried to prepare himself mentally. It was all over for him. He felt Law running his hands through his hair after a few minutes and opened his eyes. He was surprised to find that Law had only put on a hoodie.

“Well you better go get dressed. We’re going for a walk.” Law looked down at him and continued stroking Luffy’s hair.

Luffy made a confused noise in the back of his throat as Law stood up and walked out of the door. He shot up and darted his eyes around in confusion. What the fuck? Okay, so that was a false alarm as well, apparently. 

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and jumped off, peeking his head out of the door he saw that Law was heading down the stairs, towards the kitchen. 

Without turning around Law addressed him. “You better get dressed, Sunshine. It’s the perfect time to go for a walk right now.”

Luffy glared at him, trying to make Law turn into ash from the heat of his gaze. Sadly, it didn’t work but that didn’t mean Luffy would stop trying. Although he gave up after a while, instead opting to head into his room to get changed.

He walked back out in a pair of shorts along with a light hoodie and sat down at the breakfast nook. 

Law was sipping on his coffee across the table and looked up at him. “Ready to go?”

Luffy frowned. “I don’t get to eat breakfast first?”

“It’s bad to exercise right after you’ve eaten, so no.” 

“Says who?! I used to do that all the time and nothing bad ever happened!” Luffy huffed and puffed his cheeks out. He was upset that he didn’t get to eat first thing after waking up.

“Don’t pout, Sunshine. I’ll take you to a nice cafe I found while I was on errands.” Law walked over to him and kissed the top of his head. “Now let’s get going.” He held his hand out to Luffy, expecting the teen to take it.

Luffy was hesitant to do so. He battled with himself internally before deciding that it wasn’t a big deal to hold hands with someone. Slowly he reached his hand out and took Law’s. The older man laced their fingers together and gave him a gentle smile that made Luffy’s heart stutter in his chest. He cursed himself and shoved the butterflies in his stomach down to hell.

Law shoved both of their hands into the pocket of his hoodie and they both made their way out of the door. The cool fall air hit them and Luffy relished in the feeling of it against his warm skin. The bright orange and yellow leaves that were falling from the trees never failed to make him smile. He thought it was one of the most beautiful things in the world.

They walked in a surprisingly comfortable silence, going through a park and multiple busy streets. Luffy loved being outdoors again. He loved the busy hustle and bustle of the city that he grew up in. He saw a few familiar faces and greeted everyone like he usually would. It was always fun for him to go around the streets he had come to love so much. Yet a sort of sad feeling settled itself in his chest.

Luffy desperately wished to go back to the days when he could go on adventures with his brothers and explore Goa together. They were all so young and carefree then. He missed the freedom that the three of them shared together. Again he was reminded that Law had trapped him in a gilded cage and he frowned.

Suddenly the warm hand holding his own was much too hot. It was almost burning his skin. He was absolutely repulsed by the feeling. Luffy’s skin started to crawl and he tried to tug his hand away.

Law let him do no such thing and instead gripped Luffy’s hand tighter. He sent a questioning look at the teen but Luffy refused to look back at him. His head was swirling with negative thoughts and he wanted to be anywhere else but with Law.

The older man took Luffy’s behavior as an indicator that he needed to eat. He thought that Luffy was just hungry. They had been walking for a while. Law changed their course and started heading towards the cafe that he had mentioned to Luffy before they left.

They arrived in front of a medium sized building with a sign on the top that read ‘Lunar Expresso.’ The sign was in the shape of a midnight blue colored steam locomotive and the lettering was a nice cursive that was colored gold.

Luffy perked up at the smell of food and instantly his mouth began to water. The two of them walked inside of the cafe and Luffy looked around in amazement.

The inside of the cafe was lit up by fairy lights that lined the top of the walls. The ceiling was covered in glow in the dark stars with some lights here and there in the shape of planets. The walls were painted the same midnight blue as the train on the sign and had small murals of galaxies on them every so often. The seats and tables looked as if they belonged inside of a train. There were gold accents on everything including the windows and furniture. The floor was made of a dark oak and was polished very nicely. There was also a disco ball that was augmented to look like a moon that spun slowly and emitted stars and constellations around the whole cafe. The smell of coffee and baked goods permeated the air. The staff was dressed in what looked to be conductor outfits mixed with regular waiter clothes. The menu was lit up by fairy lights and looked to be handwritten in the same cursive writing as the sign of the cafe. The names of the things on the menu were themed after stars and space. There was a long counter and the workers were busy running around trying to get everything done. Next to the register there was a glass case that was littered with glow in the dark stars and housed a variety of different pastries, baked goods, and other items.

Luffy immediately forgot about his sadness and rushed over to the counter with Law in tow. His stomach growled loudly and he looked excitedly at all of the things he could order.

Law let out a chuckle at how excited his partner was. “Order whatever you want, Sunshine.”

“Really?! Anything?!” Luffy looked up at him with sparkles in his eyes. He was already thinking about devouring everything.

“Yeah, of course.”

Luffy turned back to the cashier and grinned happily. “Can I have one of every food item and a large hot chocolate, please?”

The cashier hesitated and looked at him with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t think I heard you correctly. Did you say one of every food item?”

“No, you heard me correctly!” Luffy nodded his head rapidly and started rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“Are-are you sure?” The cashier looked at him with absolute bewilderment.

“Yes! I’m one hundred percent sure! Shishishi~” Luffy was getting more and more excited by the minute. He couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into all the yummy smelling food!

“And I’ll just have a large black coffee,” Law added in. 

The cashier nodded dumbly. “Right, okay.” She rang everything up on the register. “Your total comes to three hundred sixty five dollars and forty two cents.”

Law pulled his card from his pocket and swiped it on the machine, not caring about the high price for the obscene amount of food.

“You guys can just take a seat where you want and we’ll bring your order to you when it’s ready.” She handed them a buzzer that would go off once they’re order was done.

Luffy sent the cashier a blinding smile. “Thank you!”

Law said nothing and walked them both over to an empty booth. He finally let go of Luffy’s hand and they slipped into opposite facing seats.

Once Luffy was sitting and the wait for his food began the negative swirl of emotions came back full force. He hated this! Luffy had always held freedom in the highest regard, to have everything else he cared about leveraged to take away his freedom was like a waking nightmare. A nightmare he couldn’t seem to wake up from. 

Luffy felt tears build up in his eyes as he considered if he’d even be allowed to see his friends anymore, or go to his job anymore. 

“Sunshine?” Luffy looked up, seeing Law was staring at him expectantly. 

“What?” Luffy grouched, turning his head away to hide his frustrated tears. 

“I was asking if you don’t like coffee,” Law said, eyeing up Luffy’s upset frame. He must be really hungry, for a moment he had looked like he was going to cry. 

“Not really,” Luffy muttered, getting ready for the vivamente disgust most coffee drinkers displayed when he said that. “It has a gross aftertaste.” 

Law nodded, not reacting at all to Luffy's claim to dislike coffee. He suspected as much, but it wasn’t like it was anything to care deeply about. People were entitled to their opinions even if they were wrong. 

“Not much for bitter things then?” Law asked, smirking slightly. His Sunshine was so sweet that he couldn’t have coffee, it was cute to Law. 

“No,” Luffy said softly, looking anywhere but at Law. 

“That’s adorable,” Law chuckled. Luffy slumped down in his chair looking miserable and Law frowned. He just wanted to get to know Luffy outside of the dossier Law had read of him, why was Luffy so upset? “Luffy, tell me about yourself,” Law ordered, wanting to know everything about his bit of sunshine. 

Luffy huffed, “didn't you stalk me, or something?” Luffy stared at the buzzer that would announce his food. His stomach was eating itself, and contributing to his downward spiral. “Can’t you just read whatever stalker file you have of me?” 

Law narrowed his eyes at his date. “I could, and I’ve read the information that is relevant before the change in our relationship. But what would be the fun in learning about my boyfriend from a file?” 

Luffy growled, he wanted to refute the boyfriend thing but he couldn’t and it pissed him off. 

Luffy sighed, knowing he didn’t have a choice in any of this. “What do you want to know?” Luffy asked with a grumble, laying his head down on the table. 

Law pulled out his phone, pulling up a list of questions he’d written down. He could have easily found out all this information, but he really did want a conversation with Luffy. “What’s your favorite flower?” 

“Sunflower,” Luffy shot out the answer quickly. 

“Favorite food?” 

“Meat,” Luffy answered just as quickly. 

Law frowned at the one word replies without any sense of reciprocity. Luffy was his but the younger man refused to act like it. Law sighed and realized he was at fault too, his questions were too easy. He scowled down the list of first date questions to find one that begged for more than a one word reply. 

“What’s the strangest phone conversation you’ve ever had?” Law asked. 

Luffy’s head shot up, a sneer on his face. “Are you serious?” 

Law raised a brow at the aggression on Luffy's face, curious about his reaction to the question. “Yes? Do you have an answer.” He said, sitting back with all the presence of a king in his throne. 

Luffy narrowed his eyes. “Fine, it was probably the phone call a stalker made to me on my friends phone to threaten me!” Luffy snarled. 

Law blinked. “Someone was stalking you? Who? I’ll make sure they leave you be!” Law snapped. 

Luffy gave Law a look, for once wondering if he was actually an idiot. “Are you secretly dumb?” Luffy asked seriously. 

“Excuse me?” Law asked, offended to be asked such a question. 

“And here's the first of your order!” The barista said as she sat three plates in front of Luffy and a large coffee over to Law. “It’s so big we figured we'd start bringing them out as they are made,” the barista said, unaffected by the tension between Law and Luffy. 

“Oh thanks,” Luffy mumbled, his moment of bravery over, now he had food to eat. 

Law gave up on talking to Luffy as the boy began to devour his veritable feast. When one plate was emptied it was quickly replaced and taken away. 

By the time Law had finished off his coffee Luffy had cleaned every plate and was sitting back in pleasure as he gave a happy pat to his belly. 

“Are you ready to go?” Law asked, feeling like things would go easier with Luffy fed. 

Luffy blinked, his face falling like he’d been forced back to earth. 

“Oh, sure,” Luffy muttered and stood. 

Law smiled when Luffy let him hold his hand, he didn’t hold it back but he was sure that Luffy would come around. 

He was so sure that Luffy didn’t notice the one plate that hadn’t been finished, hidden in the midst of many other plates. 

Law was very, very, wrong. 

* * *

  
  


Luffy slumped at the breakfast table and gobbled up his food, although not as fast as he usually did. Law watched him eat while he sipped his coffee. The teen tried not to let his gaze affect him and tried to ignore it as best he could.

There was a heavy feeling in his chest as he couldn’t ignore the way Law looked at him. It was completely suffocating and he felt like he almost couldn’t breathe. So far he had eaten three plates of the breakfast that was made for him.

Suddenly Luffy felt like he couldn’t eat anymore. His stomach was full of food and heavy feelings. He pushed the rest of the plates away from him.

“I’m not hungry anymore…” Luffy looked down at his hands and tried to figure out the empty feeling that was plaguing his insides.

Law raised a brow at his statement. “Are you sure? You didn’t eat as much as you normally do.”

Instead of a verbal response all Law got was a slow nod of Luffy’s head.

“That’s fine. I’ll have someone come clean this up.” Law stood up from the table and Luffy slowly followed after him.

  
  


* * *

  
Luffy kicked his feet back and forth while sitting in his chair. He and Law were sitting at a restaurant. It was upscale and he had to be dressed nice for it. Law had been the one to dress him earlier. Luffy didn’t even have it in him to complain about it.

Law thought that he was finally accepting the fact that Luffy was his. Although every time they held hands Luffy would never really grip back in any way.

Throughout the dinner Law had tried to coax Luffy into talking with him but all of his efforts failed. All he got was short responses or Luffy nodding and shaking his head. He was frustrated by the lack of response from his boyfriend.

Luffy had only eaten two plates before he stopped ordering. Law furrowed his brows when he realized that. It seemed like his sunshine was eating less these days. He shook the thought from his mind. Maybe he was trying to control his monstrous appetite.

* * *

  
  


Law noticed that it had become extremely difficult to get a smile out of Luffy. It always took him a very long time to give him a smile whenever he asked for it.

He was also informed by Penguin and Shachi that Luffy would no longer hang out with them as often and when he did he was mostly silent. Law kept a closer eye on him and noticed that he didn’t smile as often as he used to, even when Penguin or Shachi were doing something that Luffy would have normally laughed at.

Law also took note of how Luffy would now only talk when he was spoken to. He no longer started conversation with anyone. During the day he would also lock himself in their room and lay in bed. Law just assumed this was because the teen was tired. Although he worried about how often it was happening.

Luffy also stopped fighting against him all together. It was something that Law was grateful for but at the same time he missed Luffy’s spunky attitude. 

* * *

  
  


Law was woken up in the middle of the night because Luffy was tossing and turning. He groaned and tried to calm him down only to realize that Luffy was making small whimpering noises in his sleep.

He opened his eyes and looked at the teen in his arms. Luffy’s face was scrunched up and there were tears streaming down his face. Every breath he took turned into a little sniffle and Law felt his heart crack.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and wiped the tears from Luffy’s face. He had absolutely no idea what to do about this. He had never been confronted by someone he cared about crying. Racking his brain for ideas he simply chose to hold Luffy close and run his hands through his hair gently.

Eventually Luffy stopped crying but it took a while. Law didn’t think he could handle seeing Luffy cry again. It was like his sunshine had dimmed and gone out in a puff of smoke. He absolutely hated it.

Law hugged Luffy tighter and drifted back off to sleep. His thoughts were occupied by the sun he lost and the sunshine that was dimming.

He didn’t rest well that night.

* * *

  
  


Law racked his brain for anything he could do for Luffy, anything to pull him out of this funk he seemed to be in for the last few days. The best he could come up with was a change of pace. The last few days Luffy hadn’t even whined about wanting to go to work, instead he’d called in and hadn’t even replied to the growing concern from the woman on the other end.. 

Law’s hands tightened over the sunflower bouquet in his hands. He had to do something! 

Law was beginning to really worry for Luffy, and even if it made him upset, Law went to Luffy that day with only the best intentions. 

“Sunshine,” Law called to the boy, watching a program with a blank expression. He didn’t even seem aware of what was happening on the TV. He didn’t even respond to Law now. “...Luffy,” Law said, the boy's real name seemingly knocked him back into reality. 

Luffy’s large eyes lifted up to blink up at Law. “Torao?” He asked, not having noticed Law's approach. Law did not like that, an anxious feeling along with something else was building up inside him and churning his gut. 

“Hey Sunshine,” Law gave the most gentle smile he possibly could and sat on the coffee table in front of Luffy. “I got you something.” He held out the bouquet, holding it as Luffy blinked at it until recognition filled him and he slowly took the flowers. “How are you feeling today?”

Luffy kept his eyes on the flowers. He felt so tired, what was the point of anything if at the end of the day he would still be trapped. “Fine.”

Law frowned. “Hey, I was thinking, how about you and me take another crack at swimming? A nice change of pace with just you and me, huh?” Law suggested. 

Luffy froze, his hands tightening over the stems of the flowers as fear filled him. He finally looked up at Law, his head spinning as it screamed at him so loud his ears rang from the phantom noise. 

His breath began to come faster as one dreaded thought entered his head: if he refused Law will force him into the pool. 

“N-no,” Luffy stuttered, his eyes filled with tears then immediately began to wet his cheeks. “No! No, no, no!” Luffy scrambled over the couch, trying to get as far away as he could. “DON'T MAKE ME GO IN THE WATER!”

Law stood up, groaning in frustration as petals were spread all over his living room floor. Luffy was overacting again. 

“Don’t be a baby, it isn’t a big deal!” Law sighed in frustration. 

Luffy’s tears flowed faster as he stood up. “NOT A BIG DEAL?!” Luffy screeche, gripping the boutique so tight sticky water was leaking from the flower stems. 

“Yes! It’s not a big deal! It’s just a little water, what the hell is your problem anyway?!” Law yelled as he stepped around the couch and towards Luffy. 

Luffy didn’t freeze this time, his nose crinkled into a, what Law would call cute any other time, little snarl. “YOU,” he began as he lifted up the boutique and took aim. “DON'T KNOW ANYTHING,” Luffy roared as he lashed out, smacking Law in the face with a bouquet of sunflowers. “ABOUT ME!” 

Luffy didn’t pause as he screamed, running over to the coffee table and hitting the bouquet again and again. He kicked the table, only satisfied when he heard glass shatter. 

“LUFFY CALM DOWN!” Law yelled, grabbing Luffy by his waist. Luffy struggled from those hands and continued to stomp on the glass, needing to hear it break under his feet, he was just lucky he was still wearing shoes. 

Luffy turned to the TV, wanting to destroy everything Law had, he was still screaming. Words formed he wasn’t aware of as he abandoned his flowery weapon and punched at the TV. He wanted to rip it from the walls and so that’s what he did. 

When his screaming finally stopped Luffy stood in the center of a destructive path, glass, sparking technology, and petals surrounded him as he breathed heavily. Tears hadn’t stopped falling and he had blood on his hands from where his nails were biting into his palm. 

“I hate you,” Luffy hissed again. “I wanna go home...” Luffy sobbed, his shoulders sinking. 

Law stated wide eyed at Luffy’s back, not knowing what to do now. He felt like he’d broken something precious. “Sun— Luffy.”

“Just leave me alone!” Luffy screamed before he ran out of the room. 

Law did not move to follow. 


End file.
